DUE/TWO

"While it is right for the imagination to come to support weakness of vision, it must be immediate and direct like the gaze that kindles it. " (Calvino, 1999, p.37).

The larger picture invites humility, silence, contemplation. . . an awareness of our inadequacies which ignites grace, not guilt. The context frames and invokes new thoughts: shy, tentative, hesitant, the strength of imagination is the hopeful expectation of small gestures to colour the skyline. We are lit by flashes of sun and reflections of green scratchings on slopes, dwarfed by massive rock faces. Our place in the world is small. Listen to the gurgling river throughout the quiet dark nights. Closed eyes: hear an undulating melody of love tumbling as it ricochetes from stone to pebble to boulder. The lyrics are clear only in dreams as sonorous tones sing dreamers to sleep. This liquid life demands responsiveness to unspoken heart songs. 

Shall we talk about practice? With our ankles in the water, or fully submerged? Will we choke on water, gurgle and splutter; are we bashed and bedraggled, gasping for air? Shall we be shaped by currents, creating new forms? 

* Photography of Sottochiesa, Italy, 2018, by Ellen Avery. Reprinted with permission. 

Reference:

Calvino, I. (1999). Mr Palomar (W. Weaver, Trans.). London, U.K.: VIntage.