On Certain Extraterrestrials
There exist creatures who do not have music.
To them, all sound is monotone.
—
Oddly, their palms emit coloured light
according to the flow of felt emotions.
This is difficult to control. In formal meetings,
hands are kept clasped.
They find it very affecting
to watch such shows of light.
Special binocular headsets exist.
It is a popular and subtle form of entertainment.
—
But the strangest, most intimate thing
(though it is often considered to be
the preserve of only poets
and impressionable young lovers)
is for your lover to cover your eyes with their hands.
It is said, to see another's light like this
is to know their marrow.
It is known as "shrouding".
—
These people do not have music.
To them, all sound is monotone.
24 Dec 2005 16:55
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Tags: Antinarrative Fiction
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7 comments by 1 or more people
[Skip to the latest comment]Considering putting this to music.
24 Dec 2005, 17:00
Mmmmm. :)
24 Dec 2005, 18:58
How evocative…its written like a documentary but reads like a lullaby…maybe I'm just a little sleepy :) Like it, treads a fine line between poetry and antinarrative. I'd like to meet one of these curious creatures…
Christmas love xxx
24 Dec 2005, 20:08
Ant
this is wicked. simple yet striking and it's symetrical too which gets two thumbs up in Ant's book of poetry.
any chance of you letting us know where this idea came from?
26 Dec 2005, 16:35
Well I was on the bus and I had one of those "on the bus" sort of thoughts, which was: what if we didn't have music? I reasoned that, without music, there would need to be something to replace it. It would have to be some way of communicating profound emotions without words.
Incidentally, I don't think of this as poetry, but rather prose paragraphs spaced down the page. The difference is probably academic, though. Especially if I end up recording it.
28 Dec 2005, 13:07
Ant
recently i've come to see 'prose paragraphs spaced down the page' as the best kind of poetry…
28 Dec 2005, 13:51
Aces full, Mike.
Not sure I like "know their marrow". Otherwise, bonanza.
28 Dec 2005, 20:59
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