You must have come down the chimney when Iwasn't listening. But the cat heard you.The fireplace grates were knocked over and things from the mantel were on the floor. What does it feel like to visit me as a bird,in the presence of a cat, with no voiceto explain - it's me? Like Acteon, pursuedby … Continue reading Starling Ghost
Category: experience
Spoon
I gave you my back as he gave me his: I wanted to be held without holding. I wanted to be touched without touching. I wanted to be kissed without kissing, to be bitten, to be clenched, and pressed. And you did. You bumped your head against me. Like a cat, you pointed out. And … Continue reading Spoon
Marriage (Incomplete) – #25
August 29 2. When I told you I was pregnant, you told me to come back to get married. I had sent a letter. Your brother in law still has it. I guess I would keep such a thing too. So he and Suartini still remember how I described Julian, then a tight, nameless bundle … Continue reading Marriage (Incomplete) – #25
Sting – #24
August 28 1. I felt an electric shock in my left palm at the base of my thumb. 2. I dropped the phone. There was a yellow jacket underneath, huddled, dying. I had poisoned it. It poisoned me back. 3. If I were (like) my father, or you, would I have died then, in my … Continue reading Sting – #24
Orang halus – the subtle people and the ring – #17
July 11 1. I lost the ring, that Julian made for me, in the yard after taking a bath. 2. I carried my jewelry with me from the bath house and set it all on the table. 3. I put my leather collar on (always first), earrings, necklace, rings, but was missing the one for … Continue reading Orang halus – the subtle people and the ring – #17
Body of Spice – #16
July 9 1. I put away the black pepper; I can't remember what part of the body is its correlative - freckles? Moles on the skin? 2. When the priest's wife died, she willed herself to depart on the full moon, an auspicious day, appropriate for a holy woman. The full moon is when the … Continue reading Body of Spice – #16
Magic Jar – #14
July 6 1. I looked at the rice cooker - the Magic Jar - and commented to Suartini that the first time I stayed with her and Nyoman, 22 years ago, she was cooking rice in the traditional way, albeit with an aluminum pot over kerosene as opposed to a clay pot over a wood … Continue reading Magic Jar – #14
Tiny Events & the Palace of Memories
June 27 I started out thinking about language, about how sentences can be structured differently to describe the same event. I was interested in that. And while I'm still interested in that, it's not where I want to focus my attention now, though I'm just a short distance into this project. I'm confident this is … Continue reading Tiny Events & the Palace of Memories
Black Raspberry – #12
June 26 1. It's good to walk on quiet roads. I found a black raspberry bush (2) and foraged 3 berries - 2 unripe. 2. I found a black raspberry bush. The last one before this one was in Spain 3. I picked black raspberries once in New Hampshire and remembering them makes me think, … Continue reading Black Raspberry – #12
Heartbeat – #10
June 20/21 This tiny event is an experiment with memory and how a very tiny, but universal, event - we all have a beating heart - becomes a specific event that reveals the person, the relationship, life stage. The tiny events after the second are evoked by it, or at least they could be. I … Continue reading Heartbeat – #10