Tuesday, February 27, 2007

A broken pipe and an unopened Bible (revised)



Life had hit him hard, and repeatedly.

he was punch-drunk and prostrated; an effete of waste of space.

He had known for ages what he should have been doing, but God's hand seemed a bit unsatisfying, at least until now.

He was out of money, out of love, out of heroine... which had really been all the same to this point, and he stood alone in a bummed out room with a broken pipe and a tattered bible laying open, with the spine up against a wall. He held a note balled in his fist that he had reread and reread a million times in the past hour, not out of disbelief or anything like that, but out of inability to really comprehend it. There was nothing confusing about the language, only what it was asking.

You may hate Him, but He still loves you. He'll help you up and clean your face along with everything you are. Just ask Him.

He loves you, and so do I.
I hope to see you again someday.

-Bekky

He didn't understand. He believed in God. He also believed God hated his guts and didn't care if he stayed face down in piece of crap apartment forever. God had taken everything he had made himself to be, everything that was important, everything that would have been good for him and eradicated it right it front of his face.

He was angry... so incredibly choleric. He tried to get himself riled with this rage that he had become so comfortable in. It was so much easier to be pessimistic, to pick up his gear and keep going the way he had always been going... But he couldn't go that way anymore. He'd run face first into a barricade that he was just too fatigued to climb. He couldn't push himself back to his feet, and no one on earth would still want to help him.

He was angry, but only at the fact that he was helpless. he didn't know how else to react. he rolled on his side.

There was the Bible, tattered, with the pages bent up against the wall he had thrown it at earlier. He opened his hand. He read the note once more.

"You may hate Him, but He still loves you. He'll help you up and clean your face along with everything you are. Just ask Him.

He loves you, and so do I.
I hope to see you again someday.
"

Love.
He knew what love was. He had people who used to sign their letters to him in "love." They either left without warning, died, or stole his cash and supplies and then left. They loved him long enough to get what they wanted... and why not? That's precisely what he did to them; an eye for an eye. it was fair. Love was fair, all strings attached.
he rolled on his side to set his view on the Bible. It was a bunch of words written by old, middle eastern men who thought they knew something no one else did. They knew love like Bekky knew love. Unconditional, forever-and-ever-no-matter-what love. That was then Jesus walked around healing people. It was easy to love when a God is roaming the streets performing miracles left and right. These days love is harsh, miracles don't happen, and cities don't welcome the nice guy with palm leaves and cheers...
And for a split second he stopped thinking. He stopped his pain, his muse, his anger... everything, and just looked at the Bible.
There had to be some sort of love. Bekky had it, or she wouldn't have given him that Bible.
He loves you, and so do I.
He reached for the Bible, pulled it towards him and moved the kinked and ripped pages back into place. He then closed it and pulled it towards his chest, and embraced it.
He held it tightly, helplessly, hopefully. He needed something, and nothing in that room had helped. Tears started to run down his cheeks and onto the floor as he squeezed the Bible closer to his chest; so close that he could feel his heart against it.
he was still prostrated. he was still disoriented. but no longer effete, no longer worthless. to himself yes; but not to God. He didn't know how to love himself, so God loved for him.

Monday, February 26, 2007

My Universal Bulletin Board of Inspiration

I heard a voice through the discord, a deluge of passersby. I saw one gaze frozen in time watching me passing by. And I swear I'll know your face in the crowd... and I'll hear your voice so loud when you're whispering.








When someone has an idea, an epiphany, a joke, a melody, a color that sparks imagination or curiosity, they write it down, or take a picture or hum it out... then, if they so choose, they can display it upon a wall visible to everyone, everywhere. a board of inspiration for someone who hadn't lived the life needed to have such an idea, to have seen the side of the world needed to see to compose such a song.


This universal bulletin board of inspiration would be far beyond any reasonable size, and would be within reach of anyone, no matter their geological location, no matter their economic status... A universal wall of ideas fit for those who live boxes and castles alike. This bulletin board wouldn't be finite. it would have as much room as was needed, but it would never get in the way of common genius. Not a bit of he sky would be covered by it, nor would it get in the way of love. it would sit nicely in the pocket of whoever so desired to have it, but would have capacity of countless Bibles. A life size mountain scape could be painted without crowding another's idea, because it is, of course, just as important. inspiration is inspiration. nothing is to ever be overlooked.





When inspiration has been gathered into a carving, light scheme, or whatever it may be, it could be pin up on the board for anyone to take off inspiration whenever they need. The final sentence of that novel, the perfect spice in the recipe, the perfect material would be all along the wall. All you would have to do is look.





Poetry would be brilliant, paintings never be similar, rhythms would be unheard of, photographs mind blowing and sound scapes arcane. If you ever had an idea, you could scribble it down, and put on this board. if you ever had a photo you wished someone else could see, lyric that would make both a man and his son smile, you could place it on this board. everyone would be connected. We would all work as a single mind of creativity, but none of us would ever be the same because we would never, ever be capable in our entire lives to see the entirety of this board. we would see pieces of brilliance and insanity all working towards the single cause of creation.





this entire idea would go on that bulletin board.
or begin it.
what would you create?