this was inspired here but my experience was this… the rest, well you can fill in for yourself, as I expect you would…
“upon opperman’s pond“
beauty beyond beauty be
snow worn on trees
witness, jury, frozen pond
the slow captured still photo
a face of ice
milky glass window
outlined with banks of snow
halted in the cold
what now sleeps below
forever within this hibernation dirge
there remains a joy
the indomitable force of life
rejoice
(a follow up to this recent post with all my added notes, annotations, links and such, you might learn a few things (my apologies in advance)
I don’t always annotate but when I do it is dos equis…)
the one and only last of the kind
the singular leaf left
on the branch of an evolutionary tree *(1)
born to dive where there is no light *(2)
no ink to blot the story right *(3)
a true blue blood but not a king *(4)
with the largest eyes in all the realms *(5)
can invert one self into a crown of thorns *(6)
or display luminous blasts from photophores *(7)
perhaps a dash and a sprint
but no marathons happen at these depths *(8)
even so with fearsome name and look
no drop of blood shall pass *(9)
this denizen of the deepest ocean
feeds on falling snow *(10)
the leftovers
cascading down
of the lighted world
so far removed
1. The Vampire Squid is what as known as “phylogentic relict” (I know, say that ten times fast, excellent term though), basically this guy is the last surviving member or it’s particular order (or limb out on the ole’ evolutionary branch, there are many dead ends on these branches). The order that this creature is a part of is called Vampyromorphida (if that isn’t a name for a future horror movie, I don’t know what is, at least give me credit when you write it).
2. These buggers inhabit what is known as the Oxygen Minimum Zone which can have oxygen concentrations as love as 3% (by comparison you are breathing in about 21%).
3. This creature is sort of an early hybrid between an octopus and a squid, however, it can not spray ink for self defense.
4. They literally have blue blood, unlike our hemoglobin their blood uses hemocyanin to carry oxygen through their bodies. Of course blue blood is a play on human royalty. The origins of the term are quite up in the air but it generally stems from the exclusivity of royal blood lines (ahem, inbreeding) and actual physical appearance (you can see royal’s veins more clearly as they tended to stay out of the sun, the common folk toiled out in the sun, not the blue bloods).
5. Compared to body size these little guys have huge eyes, to take in any bit of light they might grab at these depths. Proportionally speaking they are among the largest in the animal kingdom.
6. When threatened the Vampire Squid will nearly turn itself inside out covering it’s head and showing off it’s spikes called cirri. The spikes are just for show though, no danger there (they are fleshy, check out the excellent video below all my blathering). You can say it looks like a ‘crown of thorns‘ which of course is a reference to the sacrifice of Jesus so I am inferring that concept here as the animals literally “turn the other cheek” so to speak.
7. Like many creatures at this depth they can project bio luminous displays from organs called photophores. They can also eject a bio-luminescent mucus full of orbs like a mini fireworks display. However the metabolic cost is high as food is so scarce at these depths the creature would much rather swim away. (and footnote I had to correct the term to photophores from “photo-spores”, my bad, I make mistakes, it happens, but either way it rhymes with thorns… so… there)
8. The squid has relatively weak musculature so it can only swim off in bursts so it relies more on trickery and strange trajectory. It can not maintain top speed for very long at all.
9. Even with such a fierce name this is quite the tame beast, definitely not some bloodsucking denizen of the night as the name might suggest. The name was based on how it looked (which probably helped it survive this long).
10. “Marine Snow” is a term for all the organic junk that floats down from the surface area. The younger squids most likely feed mostly on this, as they get older they will feed on any detritus that might drift on by, really not much different than the snow.
More video of this amazing creature…
the one and only last of the kind
the singular leaf left
on the branch of an evolutionary tree
born to dive where there is no light
no ink to blot the story right
a true blue blood but not a king
with the largest eyes in all the realms
can invert one self into a crown of thorns
or display luminous blasts from photophores
perhaps a dash and a sprint
but no marathons happen at these depths
even so with fearsome name and look
no drop of blood shall pass
this denizen of the deepest ocean
feeds on falling snow
the leftovers
cascading down
of the lighted world
so far removed
notes… so this is another I will annotate later when I can make all the cool footnotes and such as to what I was thinking and referencing, see if you can decode it all, I packed this one in, but as usual it is how I wrote it in one sitting, I’m strange that way, when inspiration takes over, that is, now onto the music, deep and heavy like the squids, unique and strange… so take a deep dive my friends….
something so very common, yet when you look at them they are almost alien, I am not talking about your garden variety synthetic ones that are the ones in your sink, bath or wherever, the ones that are actually animals from the oceans of the world (and some fresh water ones as well), they are our cousins after all, how did that first transaction go I wonder, some brave spirit diving a coral reef, or a brief chance encounter washed up on the beach, from we mighty modern folk back to the roman toga crowd and before, I wonder, who was that first of our species to decide “hey, those things look useful, let me rub this on my skin, or soak up this spill due to my kids”, the irony, or not, is that sponges have been around far longer than us (around 640 million years ago give or take a mill), might I be a sponge, some can live hundreds or perhaps thousands of years, they are very stable, sitting anchored in the same place mostly, the same space happy with the rent control of evolution, just letting the breeze of tide provide everything they need, I wonder if sponges could or would, or maybe we need to listen real close, place an ear to the water, they might be heard laughing, knowing they will be around way past our expiration date as a species I bet, but I doubt they would waste an ounce of energy on something outside of the life pipeline like we, something about the brilliant design of simplicity, for we are on the opposite spectrum of that, or so we assume to think, perhaps there is something out there, you know, go look, that sky out there, preferably at night, all that space out there between the stars, perhaps some other form of life is looking down at us and wondering… ‘those things look useful, let me rub one on my skin’…
the coin sides
heads evolution
tails perception
call it in the air…
there is always the ordinary, and mixed in there somewhere the not so, I was just walking outside to move my car, outside of work, to park where I am now allowed, as to not offend the local signs, vengeful as they are, the clouds are a gaggle of grey, no, more of a singular mob, one great mass of bland nothingness for as far as I can tell, I notice people walking down the side street that I do not recognize, the warehouse across the street, closed so many months ago that the near presence of life startles me a bit, why would anyone be walking down this street when there is nothing here? I suppose it does not matter, just the matter of moving my car literally fifteen feet to a more preferred spot, under a tree, which is nice in the summer, not so much now, walking back to the office, cutting through the lot where I was not supposed to park, I notice a couple, and then a couple more, slowly floating down, snow, actual flakes, the kind you dream of when thinking of it romantically, individual flakes, each with their own personality, you can read each one down as it goes by, flows and floats here and there, flakes the size of fifty cent pieces and seen just as rarely, so very few, to stand there and admire, and the background world fades for just a bit, I forget about the drab urban sprawl, the faded yellow lines in the asphalt of the local street, various plastic wrappers tumbling by my feet, a retreat, into the recess of my mind, the little spark of a child, that first time you saw snow and after, waiting for the snow to pile up, the fun, the sledding, the snowballs, falling down and not getting a hurt or a scrape, snow angels, running around until your outfit is soaked to the bone, peeling off layers, hot cocoa with those little marshmallows, all in this moment, just the trigger, these little flakes in slow motion all around, no sound to them, a little kid still bound to those early experiences, and then, a honking madman at the local left turn signal, apparently the cretin in front of them has not turned in sufficient speed for them, there are honks of courtesy and then those of unbridled rage, these were the later, my trance broken, I soak in one more moment of this perfect snow globe, and then, back to my desk, my daily home.
“summer the lover has left my bed
phases pass as the world groans colder
sheets witness to warmth now transform
a shelter for the winter come
once spring fling now just an austere dream
so here I lay, sleep, now dormant beast”
notes: just something that appeared in my noggin, then I lost it, forgot where the heck I jotted it down, man that is annoying, then I had to read (translate) my awful handwriting…. yay !
the morning shuffle, daily, I have been trying to pause for a moment before I hop in my car for the morning commute, to just pause, take a gander around, maybe spy the sunlight creeping through and around the branches of the trees that tower over the backdrop of the house, maybe find a squirrel milling about, a flock or one of the local birds, get lost in the minutia of wondrous nature, of the natural world around even here in suburbia, for just a second, take it in, ingest it like a day’s nourishment if you will, take the feeling with me to fuel some sense of wellness for as long as I can stretch it to last, to remember my place in the universe, the wonder of a planet spinning all the time, my feet quite tethered to yet unaware, but this morning I was in a rush, in a huff, no thinking about doing the right thing and enjoying a moment in the proverbial sun, of course there was none, sun, that is, this morning, just ominous grey swaths haphazard across, blurred and bound I rushed to my car unknown to sight or sound, just on the mission to get to work by nine, on time, or else, but sometimes life intervenes on your own behalf, out of the corner of my eye, down the block, enough of a ways I had to grab a second look, a neighbor, whom I could not identify out of a line up for my life, walking a dog, but not a dog, quite obviously a young one, a puppy, just the word rings the brain and resets perspective, ‘a puppy’, some sort of husky mix thing, paws more like over size rain boots two sizes too large, curiosity streaming from every posture pose, leash taut in stretch directions as all things are new, I wanted to pause and say hello but time would not allow, but time did allow enough, for that moment of puppy love, and things seemed more alright, for at least a few moments thereof.
Music… obvious…
Lake Wallenpaupack, last Saturday, the last day of my vacation, I like to go local and learn local… and it worked out this time… the Poconos are quite beautiful, and shame on me for not ever staying here…. I drove by this awesomeness dozens of times, take a minute, pull over, take a look…. that has been my guiding light the past year… for more info on the exact spot click the link below…. Personally I stayed at The Ledges Hotel, amazing (seriously insane beauty) view, not worth the price tag overall, but be sure to check out the Hawley Silk Mill… and I am writing up many of the places I visited over there on Yelp… the best restaurant was Cora’s.… very local, and dead when the people were flocking to the “hot spots” on the weekend… go to Cora’s, you’ll thank me…. I am sure there is plenty I missed but I will be back, I loved exploring the area !
the rain has gone but the song of the storm still plays a heavy dirge upon theses lands (as I observe), there is always these storms this time of year, where the sky is utterly gray and unforgiving, not pockets of lightning, not roving cloud wombs birthing thunder, rains that once quenched the glorious hot pavement of summer, so distant now but from just weeks ago, all the demons and reasons creeping back in, in this season, the summer light kept them hidden, locked in their quarters, but now as the trees are being undressed, their hiding places no longer needed, they are coming out, to stalk the night as it grows longer and longer, chewing, gnawing at the edges of the day morsel by mouthful, a crescendo descends upon the devil’s night, as candy and subtle mayhem ignite imaginations, shadows and flickering candles dancing in jack smiles, the world is retelling the ancient story, one it knows well, sending emissaries and portents to further the tale, and should we pay mind, or pay strict attention, details and devils may rise, all in the slight of hand concealed by an autumn storm as it rages in from the ocean on familiar northeastern tract, we bustle about under all this happening almost unaware, this transforming, but yet it dictates our path, changes trajectories whether we perceive them or not, from one leaf down to the whole lot, soon, soon a blanket will come, not of comfort but stillness cold, as the world prepares and truth be told, not mere whispers but whipping winds, change is coming and has already been.
music... Badlands – Winter’s Call
notes… thanks to all who read my words, all thoughts, comments, recipes, music recommendations and everything else is appreciated, I write this blog for me but if it helps anyone else? I’m cool with that, thanks.
taking this moment to study and enjoy the subtle-ness and suppleness of this cool breeze, letting it caress me, wrap itself around me, swirl undress me to my core, while still clothed, how this wind in my hand allows me to wind down, the gears, to a grinding rusty sparking halt, to full inhale and breathe deep, to realize the world has had me wound going at an accelerated pace, all day, for no real rational reason, I suppose this is manifest stress destiny, allowing your gears to be flung wide west open to please the demon of production, of work that is never done and will still be here long, undone as I am off into the next stage of life, how easily we get wrapped into the tow throng of the assembly line, I suppose it is all in the deft trap of routine, the schedule, the drive, the morning coffee, the vacant hellos to some, the longer hellos to those that know you, or at least know ‘the work you’, and those that are actually friends outside the confines, the walls all determined by time cards and paychecks, a structure construct, the contract codex of the workplace, the pace, a race, to nowhere or upwards rung for more money less time both in years and in life as time forwards by, the gears shift seamlessly and to all speeds, speeds by so rapidly without seams, no fun mondays blur into wtf wednesdays to gateway fridays and weekends relief, the summer is gone and I barely had time to admire her smile, warmth, and sun, I do not miss the bugs however, to sit out on nights like these, this comforter of a breeze, much cooler than has been, not enough to chase me in, or out of my shorts, my toes are growing cold but I still prefer bare-feet for now, the dew on the lawn is certainly cold, not a foil anymore to a blazing sun’s gaze, but for at least a few more precious days I can pretend to feel what the summer was while awaiting the growing cold, such is the nature of things, such is nature, the pace is the same, year in and out, the seasons roll in and out, the rest of the natural world flows as the river natural goes, but do we ?
(part of my porch series… which I try to keep up with, when it happens but the page is not always 100% up to date, but I try my best when I have time, so thanks in any regard..)
Shades of My Garden 