Friday 15 August 2008

Sunset




And as the sun set upon another day, the questions flitting through his mind began to slow and, like the birds and insects of the day, find a place to rest for the night.
The night was just warm enough to sit out, if you wrapped a coat around you. Henry sat, his body rolled back on the grass so that the base of his spine was holding him in place, stroking the ground, rather than the padding of his bottom.
He wondered at the sun, how its hue grew darker and more intense as its glare grew less powerful. Soon its red entrails filled the sky. He thought of how men once believed the sun descended with a hiss into the ocean at the end of a day, but was always thankfully liberated from the waters in the morning before its light and heat was snuffed out forever.
He then imagined the waning sun as a man being lowered alive into hot wax or oil. He thought he heard it howl as it dipped below the horizon.
After its demise, Henry sat there in the early dark for a few more minutes before standing up, shaking a spider from his legs and dissapearing back inside his cottage.

6 comments:

bha said...

It's like the sun being chased by hounds or fighting off snakes after it disappears from sight--the change from day to night always evoked such interesting images in the past. Maybe because our ancestors had decent chances of being attacked by such creatures, themselves.

Sucharita Sarkar said...

Wow, that was some INFERNAL Faustian imagery! Totally far-out, but I guess Bryan's right, the darkness brings on its own demons.

bha said...

Hey Paul, I guess music must have some influence, since I listen to a lot and pay lots of attention to lyrics. Besides that there are religious texts (eastern but the Bible as well), Shakespeare (mainly less his poetry), a hefty dose of Japanese haiku, and some assorted Chinese poetry. I read a good amount of William Carlos Williams after being told I was a bit like him. I haven't read overly much in any poetic traditions, but had a decent exposure to English (language) poetry in high school. Mind you, this is some of what's gone into me from other poetry, but I don't know how much comes back out. Most of what I write is based on random little thoughts or strange states of mind.

Alexi Frest said...

As for infernal Faustian images, I love this style. Gloomy atmosphere is my weak point!

eye in the sky said...

photo as beautiful as the text work. works like this inspire in many levels. wow.

Jaquanda Rae said...

Artistic isolation.