wishing
May 16, 2009 at 6:06 pm | Posted in writing | 23 CommentsTags: writing
They moved like constellations of colour, as if they were composed of light. The tiger tattoo on his shoulder flexed and needled, restless. Caught in a strange binding of regretting his aloneness and wishing they were simpler creatures, Sunonhead jiggled the line tied to his toe. He was perplexed by the thought that his hunger made him wish hunger on the fishyfish. He did not like to sacrifice the life of a worm in vain.
In the shallows he could see them dancing and he wondered if there was a music under the water which only fluid creatures could hear. The one with long trailing fins he called Esoteria after his wife whose curls would drift around her in just that manner when she was swimming. The little frantic one darting twixt and tween the others he called ‘correct attribution’ because he knew that would make her smile when he told her though he didn’t know why.
It was another of those strange thought circles that fascinated him. Making her smile made him happier and for some reason he could not fathom, his happiness seemed to increase hers. It was like a silver spiral reaching up to the old man with the hat on who floated across each clear night sky. Sunonhead’s eyes searched the gathering dark for some sign of her, the first quick sparkle on the Northern horizon announcing her return.
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The Puzzle Box
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- 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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Is this part of a larger work Paul? I hope so: I could read on forever. Nice work.
Thanks Maxine. Sunonhead is a permanent character. He’s in the Puzzle Box and I thought that when it was published that would be it, but he won’t go away. I think I will be writing Sunonhead pieces forever. In a way all my writing is part of one huge poetry opera.
Comment by Maxine— May 16, 2009 #
Beautiful piece. More please :-).
Thanks Cocoyea. And hello again,
Comment by cocoyea— May 17, 2009 #
‘It was another of those strange thought circles that fascinated him. Making her smile made him happier and for some reason he could not fathom, his happiness seemed to increase hers.’ Makes perfect sense to me. And is a wonderful thought captured. Sunonhead is one of my favourite characters – I adore his deepness with so little questioning within the questions, almost an immediate acceptance each time. Another everlasting Squires’ piece. How wonderful.
I think you probably understand him better than I do, Narnie. If he’s an archetype of Taoism, the balance between questions and acceptance becomes the critical aspect of his being. I don’t like to think too much about how he works though. Thankyou,
Comment by Narnie— May 17, 2009 #
I always wanted to be another kind of being, sometimes a cat, others a snail,
someday even switch grass would suit me; less problems, less thinking, closer to our real
needs and instincts.
“He wondered if there was a music under the water which only fluid creatures could hear”:
Of course, although it is not exactly music, it is a bit different, we do not have a name for it yet, cause humans rarely pay attention to this kind of things, and even less try to understand them.
“Making her smile made him happier … his happiness seemed to increase hers”: That is the best dynamic a relation can develop. Is true love.
Great poem, profound and romantic (made me sigh).
Thankyou, Mariana.
Comment by Mariana— May 17, 2009 #
if wishes were fish…
Hello,
Comment by the projectivist— May 17, 2009 #
Forgive me if I am off the mark here, Paul. Is Sunonhead a ‘metaphysical conceit’? Wikipedia says of the conceit that ‘By juxtaposing, usurping and manipulating images and ideas in surprising ways, a conceit invites the reader into a more sophisticated understanding of an object of comparison.’ Maybe it’s not useful to categorise poetry like this into ‘contemporary metaphysical’, but I must say that you have a wonderful talent for leading me to think metaphysically while inspiring my awe for the physical.
I don’t know, Brad. Most of the time I am pretending to be a lot smarter than I actually am. Your comment sounds about right though and it is flattering to have some one think so hard about what I’m doing. I’ve been thinking a lot today about my process, the whole process and business of what I’ve been doing and it’s going to change.
Comment by Brad— May 17, 2009 #
The idea of all your writing being part of one big ‘poetry opera’ really makes my mind happy. I am going to take the concept away and chew on it.
Cool. I almost said something about swallowing but it would sound too much like a rude joke.
Comment by Sack Posset— May 17, 2009 #
fascinating (speechless) !!!
!!! me too,
Comment by tipota— May 18, 2009 #
I missed Sunonhead…he glitters
He’s always lurking, Tina.
Comment by Tina— May 18, 2009 #
This was beautiful, and it brought tears to my eyes.
Thankyou, Thomma Lyn.
Comment by Thomma Lyn— May 18, 2009 #
There is definitely music under water. I have seen fish dancing in and out of the reeds in the bay. Lovely, Paul.
Yes, perhaps the architecture of water is music, Selma.
Comment by Selma— May 18, 2009 #
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.
Sunonhead is my favorite character in Puzzle Box.
Thankyou, Harmonie.
Comment by harmonie22— May 18, 2009 #
This does seem like part of a larger piece. It is very beautiful, with the imagery of the fish, the line leading into the thought circles and the smile, the expansiveness of the horizon, a sweet, breathtaking organic flow.
I could be clever and say everything is part of a larger piece, Ms Squirrel. Thankyou for your lovely comment.
Comment by The Querulous Squirrel— May 18, 2009 #
“Making her smile made him happier and for some reason he could not fathom, his happiness seemed to increase hers.”
Yep. That is WHAT I WANT to find/have IF I ever decide to date again!
It is so simple an idea, Meleah, perhaps not so easy to put into practice.
Comment by meleah rebeccah— May 18, 2009 #
Beautiful Paul. True & lovely. Go see my blog which links to you today and see if you agree with me and whether I misrepresent you so I can straighten things out as soon as I wake.
Thanks, AP. I have visited and commented. It is an old thing, there is lots of bad poetry everywhere, in blogs, in big journals, in small presses. Nothing anyone can do about it, I’m afraid except to not read it and try not to contribute to it.
Comment by art predator— May 18, 2009 #
beautiful little story, so much to ponder about, and the great circle of happiness, may it always continue to grow
Yes indeed, thankyou.
Comment by Utopian Fragments— May 18, 2009 #
precision in language coupled with unique techniques dominate your work… i’m often reminded of one of my favorite genres of theater [the theater of the absurd] whenever i come ’round…
enjoyed this…
Cool, unique technique
Comment by Chico Mahalo— May 18, 2009 #
Not expecting to run into Sunonhead today, but in doing so I smiled.
I smiled even broader when I read:
“He was perplexed by the thought that his hunger made him wish hunger on the fishyfish.”
This piece is romantic, Paul. I read on Jessie’s blog that you find writing erotica a little difficult… dare I say that there are lines within this piece that would make the fairer sex swoon.
Interestly enough, I am taking your self-confessed struggle with heterosexual erotica as a challenge. I intend to see what all the fuss is about. Wait and see. This could take a while. 🙂
Ahh, I look forward to it, Bryan. Perhaps you could conspire with the Medicated Lady?
Comment by poeticgrin— May 19, 2009 #
i’ve just popped in to steal your bryan ferry song.
lovely. so long since i heard it.
“Flashing through the interference beams,” Listen carefully to the lyrics one day, it will convince you of the nonlinearity of time. And it’s the theme song round here, enjoy.
Comment by the projectivist— May 19, 2009 #
particularly fond of the last stanza 🙂
Cool, thankyou.
Comment by jessiecarty— May 19, 2009 #
I just discovered something amazing! The glyph for ‘conjure’ in Mayan writing is…a hand grasping a fish!
No wonder Sunonhead is always fishing. I am just stunned by this discovery, an ancient link between conjure and fish! (p.s. Mayan writing is incredible.)
Comment by Paul— May 21, 2009 #
Amazing. Beautiful writing señor.
Why thankyou, Senorita.
Comment by Señorita— May 22, 2009 #
brilliant, especially loved “He was perplexed by the thought that his hunger made him wish hunger on the fishyfish. He did not like to sacrifice the life of a worm in vain.”
But our mind is a self-maximizing surface… feels like theres a lot of the sea here lately
Comment by Mental Mist— May 24, 2009 #