Worstward Ho Read online

  of sight. Still dim and yet -. No. Nohow

  so on. Say better worse words gone

  when nohow on. Still dim and nohow

  on. All seen and nohow on. What words

  for what then? None for what then. No

  words for what when words gone. For

  what when nohow on. Somehow

  nohow on.

  W o r s e n i n g w o r d s w h o s e

  unknown. Whence unknown. At all

  costs unknown. Now for to say as worst

  they may only they only they. Dim void

  shades all they. Nothing save what they

  say. Somehow say. Nothing save they.

  What they say. Whosesoever whencesoever say. As worst they may fail ever worse to say.

  �0

  SAMUEL BECKE1T

  Remains of mind then still.

  Enough still. Somewhose somewhere

  somehow enough still. No mind and

  words? Even such words. So enough

  still. Just enough still to joy. Joy! Just

  enough still to joy that only they. Only!

  Enough still not to know. Not to

  know what they say. Not to know what

  it is the words it says say. Says? Secretes.

  Say better worse secretes. What it is the

  words it secretes say. What the so-said

  void. The so-said dim. The so-said

  shades. The so-said seat and germ of all.

  Enough to know no knowing. No knowing what it is the words it secretes say.

  No saying. No saying what it all is they

  somehow say.

  3 1

  HO

  That said on back to try worse say

  the plodding twain. Preying since last

  worse said on foresaid remains. But

  what not on them preying? What seen?

  What said? What of all seen and said not

  on them preying? True. True! And yet

  say worst perhaps worst of all the old

  man and child. That shade as last worse

  seen. Left right left right barefoot

  unreceding on. They then the words.

  Back to them now for want of better on

  and better fail. Worser fail that perhaps

  of all the least. Least worse failed of all

  the worse failed shades. Less worse

  than the bowed back alone. The skull

  and lidless stare. Though they too for

  worse. But what not for worse. True.

  True! And yet say first the worst perhaps worst of all the old man and child.

  Worst in need of worse. Worse in -

  SAMUEL BECKE1T

  Blanks for nohow on. How long?

  Blanks how long till somehow on?

  Again somehow on. All gone when

  nohow on. Time gone when nohow on.

  Worse less. By no stretch more.

  Worse for want of better less. Less best.

  No. Naught best. Best worse. No. Not

  best worse. Naught not best worse. Less

  best worse. No. Least. Least best worse.

  Least never to be naught. Never to

  naught be brought. Never by naught be

  nulled. Unnullable least. Say that best

  worse. With leastening words say least

  best worse. For want of worser worst.

  Unlessenable least best worse.

  The twain. The hands. Held holding hands. That almost ring! As when

  first said on crippled hands the head.

  Crippled hands! They there then the

  words. Here now held holding. As

  when first said. Ununsaid when worse

  said. Away. Held holding hands!

  The empty too. Away. No hands in

  the - . No. Save for worse to say. Somehow worse somehow to say. Say for now still seen. Dimly seen. Dim white.

  Two dim white empty hands. In the dim

  void.

  So !eastward on. So long as dim

  still. Dim undimmed. Or dimmed to

  dimmer still. To dimmost dim. Leastmost in dimmost dim. Utmost dim.

  Leastmost in utmost dim. Unworsenable worst.

  SAMUEL BECKETf

  What words for what then? How

  almost they still ring. As somehow from

  some soft of mind they ooze. From it in

  it ooze. How all but uninane. To last

  unlessenable least how loath to leasten.

  For then in utmost dim to unutter leastmost all.

  So little worse the old man and

  child. Gone held holding hands they

  plod apart. Left right barefoot unreceding on. Not worsen yet the rift. Save for some after nohow somehow worser on.

  On back to unsay clamped to all

  the stare. No but from now to now this

  and now that. As now from worsened

  twain to next for worse alone. To skull

  and stare alone. Of the two worse in

  want the skull preying since unsunk.

  Now say the fore alone. No dome. Temple to temple alone. Clamped to it and stare alone the stare. Bowed back alone

  and twain blurs in the void. So better

  than nothing worse shade three from

  now.

  Somehow again on back to the

  bowed back alone. Nothing to show a

  woman's and yet a woman's. Oozed

  from softening soft the word woman's.

  The words old woman's. The words

  nothing to show bowed back alone a

  woman's and yet a woman's. So better

  worse from now that shade a woman's.

  An old woman's.

  Next fail see say how dim

  36

  SAMUEL BECKEtT

  undimmed to worsen. How nohow save

  to dimmer still. But but a shade so as

  when after nohow somehow on to

  dimmer still. Till dimmost dim. Best

  bad worse of all. Save somehow

  undimmed worser still.

  Ooze on back not to unsay but say

  again the vasts apart. Say seen again. No

  worse again. The vasts of void apart. Of

  all so far missaid the worse missaid. So

  far. Not till nohow worse missay say

  worse missaid. Not till for good nohow

  on poor worst missaid.

  Longing the so-said mind long lost

  to longing. The so-missaid. So far somissaid. Dint of long longing lost to longing. Long vain longing. And longing

  WORSTWARD HO

  still. Faintly longing still. Faintly vainly

  longing still. For fainter still. For faintest. Faintly vainly longing for the least of longing. Unlessenable least of longing. Unstillable vain last of longing still.

  Longing that all go. Dim go. Void

  go. Longing go. Vain longing that vain

  longing go.

  Said is missaid. Whenever said

  said said missaid. From now said alone.

  No more from now now said and now

  missaid. From now said alone. Said for

  missaid. For be missaid.

  Back is on. Somehow on. From

  now back alone. No more from now

  SAMUEL BECKE'IT

  now back and now back on. From now

  back alone. Back for back on. Back for

  somehow on.

  Back unsay better worse by no

  stretch more. If more dim less light

  then better worse more dim. Unsaid

  then better worse by no stretch more.

  Better worse may no less than less be

  more. Better worse what? The say? The

  said. Same thing. Same nothing. Same all

  but nothing.

  No once. No once in pastless now.

  No not none. When before worse the

  shades? The dim before more? When if

/>   not once. Onceless alone the void. By

  no stretch more. By none less. Onceless

  till no more.

  Ooze back try worsen blanks.

  Those then when nohow on. Unsay

  then all gone. All not gone. Only nohow

  on. All not gone and nohow on. All

  there as now when somehow on. The

  dim. The void. The shades. Only words

  gone. Ooze gone. Till ooze again and

  on. Somehow ooze on.

  Preying since last worse the stare.

  Something there still far so far from

  wrong. So far far far from wrong. Try

  better worse another stare when with

  words than when not. When somehow

  than when nohow. While all seen the

  same. No not all seen the same. Seen

  other. By the same other stare seen

  other. When with words than when

  not. When somehow than when

  nohow. How fail say how other seen?

  SAMUEL BECKE'IT

  Less. Less seen. Less seeing. Less

  seen and seeing when with words than

  when not. Wben somehow than when

  nohow. Stare by words dimmed. Shades

  dimmed. Void dimmed. Dim dimmed.

  All there as when no words. As when

  nohow. Only all dimmed. Till blank

  again. No words again. Nohow again.

  Then all undimmed. Stare undimmed.

  That words had dimmed.

  Back unsay shades can go. Go and

  come again. No. Shades cannot go.

  Much less come again. Nor bowed old

  woman's back. Nor old man and child.

  Nor foreskull and stare. Blur yes. Shades

  can blur. Wben stare clamped to one

  alone. Or somehow words again. Go no

  nor come again. Till dim if ever go.

  Never to come again.

  41

  HO

  Blanks for when words gone.

  When nohow on. Then all seen as only

  then. Undimmed. All undimmed that

  words dim. All so seen unsaid. No ooze

  then. No trace on soft when from it

  ooze again. In it ooze again. Ooze alone

  for seen as seen with ooze. Dimmed. No

  ooze for seen undimmed. For when

  nohow on. No ooze for when ooze

  gone.

  Back try worsen twain preying

  since last worse. Since atwain. Two

  once so one. From now rift a vast. Vast

  of void atween. With equal plod still

  unreceding on. That little better worse.

  Till words for worser still. Worse words

  for worser still.

  SAMUEL BECKE'IT

  Preying but what not preying?

  When not preying? Nohow over words

  again say what then when not preying.

  Each better worse for naught. No stilling preying. The shades. The dim. The void. All always faintly preying. Worse

  for naught. Worser for naught. No less

  than when but bad all always faintly

  preying. Gnawing.

  Gnawing to be gone. Less no

  good. Worse no good. Only one good.

  Gone. Gone for good. Till then gnaw

  on. All gnaw on. To be gone.

  All save void. No. Void too.

  Unworsenable void. Never less. Never

  more. Never since first said never

  unsaid never worse said never not

  gnawing to be gone.

  43

  WORSTWARD HO

  Say child gone. As good as gone.

  From the void. From the stare. Void

  then not that much more? Say old man

  gone. Old woman gone. As good as

  gone. Void then not that much more

  again? No. Void most when almost.

  Worst when almost. Less then? All

  shades as good as gone. If then not that

  much more then that much less then?

  Less worse then? Enough. A pox on

  void. Unmoreable unlessable unworseable evermost almost void.

  Back to once so-said two as one.

  Preying ever since not long since last

  failed worse. Ever since vast a tween. Say

  better worse now all gone save trunks

  from now. Nothing from pelves down.

  From napes up. Topless baseless hindtrunks. Legless plodding on. Left right unreceding on.

  SAMUEL BECKETI'

  Stare clamped to stare. Bowed

  backs blurs in stare clamped to stare.

  Two black holes. Dim black. In through

  skull to soft. Out from soft through

  skull. Agape in unseen face. That the

  flaw? The want of flaw? Try better

  worse set in skull. Two black holes in

  fore skull. Or one. Try better still worse

  one. One dim black hole mid-foreskull.

  Into the hell of all. Out from the hell of

  all. So better than nothing worse say

  stare from now.

  Stare outstared away to old man

  hindtrunk unreceding on. Try better

  worse kneeling. Legs gone say better

  worse kneeling. No more if ever on. Say

  never. Say never on. Ever kneeling. Legs

  gone from stare say better worse ever

  kneeling. Stare away to child and

  4;

  WORSTWARD HO

  worsen same. Vast void apart old man

  and child dim shades on unseen knees.

  One blur. One clear. Dim clear. Now

  the one. Now the other.

  Nothing to show a child and yet a

  child. A man and yet a man. Old and yet

  old. Nothing but ooze how nothing and

  yet. One bowed back yet an old man's.

  The other yet a child's. A small child's.

  Somehow again and all in stare

  again. All at once as once. Better worse

  all. The three bowed down. The stare.

  The whole narrow void. No blurs. All

  clear. Dim clear. Black hole agape on

  all. Inletting all. Outletting all.

  SAMUEL BECKETI'

  Nothing and yet a woman. Old

  and yet old. On unseen knees. Stooped

  as loving memory some old gravestones

  stoop. In that old graveyard. Names

  gone and when to when. Stoop mute

  over the graves of none.

  Same stoop for all. Same vasts

  apart. Such last state. Latest state. Till

  somehow less in vain. Worse in vain. All

  gnawing to be naught. Never to be

  naught.

  What were skull to go? As good as

  go. Into what then black hole? From out

  what then? What why of all? Better

  worse so? No. Skull better worse. What

  left of skull. Of soft. Worst why of all of

  all. So skull not go. What left of skull not

  47

  WORSTWARD HO

  go. Into it still the hole. Into what left of

  soft. From out what little left.

  Enough. Sudden enough. Sudden

  all far. No move and sudden all far. All

  least. Three pins. One pinhole. In dimmost dim. Vasts apart. At bounds of boundless void. Whence no farther.

  Best worse no farther. Nohow less.

  Nohow worse. Nohow naught. Nohow

  on.

  Said nohow on.

  Document Outline

  Cover

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Worstward Ho