incredible creature,
April 7, 2008 at 4:23 pm | Posted in writing | 32 CommentsTags: australian sentences, platypus, writing
that European Carp is a terrible pest, he thinks, it survives you see, on anything, and gradually more delicate and carefully balanced creatures go hungry in its wake. The platypus is a secretive fellow, odd, mad even, to have chosen such sitespecific evolution. Carping is a kind of unpleasant talk, all consonants and facts, he says, dissappearing under the mangrove roots chasing yabbies, where is sir ian mackellan quoting lear when you need him, thwack, this is not pygmalion, say it again, some school flashes past in torrid pursuit of its tale, what use words now the storm is here, all these creatures come alive in eddies and undercurrents, yummy, where is she, he thinks nosing up stream, some collision of cultures to be expected, i expect, haha, in the end, some exposition of a fine tracery of capillaries contracting electrically conspiring to assist in the smooth passage of some entreaty, a document unfurled claiming some untrammelled right, but as a platypus, well that’s innocent enough surely, he thinks overlooking the sudden disappearance of all and sundry and the whisper in the water of carp so engaged is he in nuzzling his way through nook and cranny, a sudden silence, poised, and then released as she flicks away smiling upstream, ahaha there she is,
(thanks to alanalove for this very rare footage of platypuses (oh alright platypis) in the wild,
And I am pretty sure that is the great Australian band The Cat Empire, do yourself a favour and buy the album and go see them live cos they are brilliant. rage on, i say,
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The Puzzle Box
gingatao, the podcast- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
- The Australian Poet Laureate
- another quote from Robert Adamson January 31, 2010
- Three Quotes from Robert Adamson October 22, 2009
- The copyright question (2) October 7, 2009
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methinks you are referring to some of your commenters, or that was my first thought…all the souls that swim and ebb and flow around your blog, glad you did this early, i have a stalker rep to live up to.
i love the cat Empire.And saw them live, somewhere…
Comment by enigma— April 7, 2008 #
a lovely, swirling, whirling post…….and that film is very sweet, and I think platypusses or however you spell it are wonderful, shame I never saw one when I was there.
Comment by jo— April 7, 2008 #
Oh no, Enigma I wasn’t referring to anyone. I should point out maybe that European Carp are an introduced pest in Australian waterways and the platypus habitats are under threat but no, for once I wasn’t talking about us, just a story,
Thanks Jo, platypus are really hard to see in the wild, that was one of the reasons I really appreciated this footage.
Comment by Paul— April 7, 2008 #
“thwack, this is not pygmalion”
~grinning~
Platy may not be the universal ideal of beauty but beauty is in the eye of.
Love the tie in. Though to be fair, why do we think the platypus looks odd? It’s only because we compare it to other creatures we saw first and believe what we’ve been told: “yeah, she’s an odd one” ~wink~
Comment by Lakota— April 7, 2008 #
I really never meta platypus I didn’t like–
good piece and good clip!
Comment by Scot— April 7, 2008 #
ginga, i know carp are pests…i meant it in a more beautiful way… made me think of lakota actually
“, yummy, where is she, he thinks nosing up stream, some collision of cultures to be expected,”
Comment by enigma— April 7, 2008 #
Ah, so the carp is analagous to humanity, sans monuments to the species it has pushed out.
Comment by ozymandiaz— April 7, 2008 #
~blinking~
I’m a carp?
kewl.
Comment by Lakota— April 7, 2008 #
Dude… if those are your swing-thoughts, no wonder you’ve never broken 100! Still, the manic creativity should serve you well as you search for your ball. Rage on, indeed… loved the freewrite flow and energy.
Comment by Bob— April 7, 2008 #
LP in the best sense dear .
Comment by enigma— April 7, 2008 #
The platypus is a gorgeous creature. Loved the video…and the write.
Comment by Tina Trivett— April 7, 2008 #
Cool, I must be more clear in my nonmetaphor in future, but I’m glad you all had such fun. Pieces will get shorter now time is fleeting, first day at the new job, woohoo,
Comment by Paul— April 8, 2008 #
i take it that we totally fucked up the interpretations? ~grin~ it was fun.
how was new job/first day?
make any new friends?
new enemies?
leave a crowd of stunned and awed admirers in your wake?
same old same old.
~wink~
Comment by Lakota— April 8, 2008 #
brilliant, brilliant, prose that moves like liquid. Loved it, the stream of consciousness with a lascivious undercurrent. I bet that was a first draft too. This is the best thing I’ve read all day (appplause, woohoos, hoots, and cat-calls, encore, encore- give us more 🙂 )
Comment by harmonie22— April 8, 2008 #
Thankyou all again for your outrageously outrageous comments. I posted a piece today and it disappeared when I tried to edit it, I pushed save but it evaporated into the ether, must be a sign,
Comment by Paul— April 8, 2008 #
It’ll be saved as a draft, go looksee.
Comment by jo— April 8, 2008 #
Nope it’s gone. Oh well, it wasn’t very good anyway. There is plenty other stuff here for people to read. Never mind.
Comment by Paul— April 8, 2008 #
Now don’t be mixing your non metaphores
Comment by ozymandiaz— April 8, 2008 #
Great essay on pest(s)! Never thought about them like that!
I agree. Lots to read here..
😉
Comment by gautami tripathy— April 9, 2008 #
^^^
I’m a pest?
😦
(where’s the dang icon for drama queen tears?)
ps… i am sooooo totally messing with you just because the opening was presented.
Comment by Lakotaprincess— April 9, 2008 #
Well, Lakota I shall have to punish you by going over to your place and singing some disco music, oo oo oo oo oo stayin alive stayin alive, oh you can tell by the way i move my hips, i’m a woman’s man, no time to talk, oo,
Comment by Paul— April 9, 2008 #
you are evil.
Comment by Lakotaprincess— April 9, 2008 #
Why thankyou, coming from you my dear that is a compliment amongst compliments, haha, other’s play at being evil but they are mere pretenders, mere writers of the word smack, hahahahahaha, (evil cackle)
Comment by Paul— April 9, 2008 #
~sigh~ the mystique is gone. he knows me so well already. knows i’m drawn to play with the bad ones, the evil ones, all dressed in black with a cutting sense of humor. so so sexy the darkling one. ~sigh~
Comment by Lakotaprincess— April 9, 2008 #
A prose poem, that’s what this is–loopy, manic, strange, and beautiful.
Comment by joefelso— April 9, 2008 #
joefelso just described paul
Comment by Enigma— April 9, 2008 #
Well the first three words definitely,
Comment by Paul— April 9, 2008 #
Awwwww come on, dont be coy. LOL
Comment by enigma— April 9, 2008 #
Thought these be discernable creatures, still I get the sense of a book of imaginary beings.
Comment by Peter— April 11, 2008 #
Haha, Peter, Borges, you are a wonderment, Borges, it is old and frail in my bookshelf and i had forgotten it, thankyou so much,
Comment by Paul— April 11, 2008 #
Paul,
Your blog is great and I have read some entries again and again. Thanks for posting and also for the kind words on the platypus footage. For some reason – during the last year – I found it important to dedicate long weekends in search of platypus in the wild. Watching these merry creatures tending to daily duties puts a smile on your face.
Comment by Mike— April 12, 2008 #
Thanks Mike, I wrote this piece and then went looking for footage and yours was the best by far, rage on, i say,
Comment by Paul— April 13, 2008 #