Christmas AngelBlack and Gold
(unfinished)
Early on the mornings of Christmas season, I record the events of this, my history: the intrusion and growth of the tree and lights, the viney garlands stretching the length of the balusters: Nature irruptive, overturning the fences of civilization, coming back with indifferent retaliation: bringing pine and thorn and bush and needle and scrub into our home; dispelling the bland concerto of our times, and bashing us with the harpsichords of religion: birth, salvation, suffering...what delight!
I try to get it all down with only natural light and the light of the ornamental evergreens. The scribes of my brain write "In dulci jubilo..." and "We three kings..." on parchment, and store it under "2009". My journal is a blister now, not of palimpsests & words, but fireworks! The pen leaps like the hart, and asterisk follows asterisk...all my writing is scratches without glitter, so I take the bottle of glitter and dowse the words with stars.
My camera obscura waits for dawn, the pinhole device records the brilliant tree, my digital cameras are busied by the endless detail of morning.
"2009" I whisper to the video cam, "2009". Archived tapes and microfiche...
This edifice of memory is the tomb of the year's desires. How many may I record and thrust within? And my loved ones still sleep; they aren't yet awake. Their close-ups won't be scheduled for a bit. I feel like Max to the Old Year's Norma Desmond suddenly...as she descends the staircase...and this is all silhouette, dark and clean of detail, the outline of the material desire: a spiritual black-work of angelic choirs...and the unseen windows and doors of Advent calendars unopened!
Garland & Balusters----
inspiration: http://littlelightreading.blogspot.com/2009/12/starlings.html
I designed and executed the blackwork about 35 years ago.
I designed and executed the blackwork about 35 years ago.
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