All alone out here, I exist. My homeland
seems a misty corner in my mind — and far
away and long ago it rambled off and faded
out (somewhere toward the sunset, I think).
Of course most, when they hear, think it
just smoke and mirrors, but I swear it
happened as I stand before you today!
Miles and miles up, upon a little bramble
of extra polymorphic potential, we sat with
hands clasped, listening… my god, what we
heard!.. was it music of some ancient,
rhythmic past, or some poetry of the wind,
hailing the majesty of the mountains?..
To this day I can not say, and as my
memory grows dim, I can’t help but think
we heard nothing. Perhaps the rumblings of
my own mind, calling out to me over
distances unimaginable, and from a time out
of sync. Or, perhaps, it was my stomach.
The air exploded into a mighty thrust,
knocking me over, and we laughed — Luis,
Mary and I. We stuck out our thumbs to the
world, for its wonders. We were alive! How
could it be? We were alive, and together.
Somehow, in this wide world, we had found
each other — people we could care about
and love, and who gave as much back.
The alien music in my ears, ancient beyond
measure, (and only comprehensible in the
state of mind in which I, and I assume Mary
and Luis as well, now found ourselves
inhabiting at that moment) grew dimmer,
but was always present. The sun rose over
the mountains, cascading yellows and
oranges and...
… Luis jumped up with a cry like a wild
beast, and roared around the cliff, disturbing
the green moss, which covered the rock. He
got on all fours, and Mary and I guffawed at
the silly act he put on. Mary sat up and
looked at Luis, and I saw the sunbeams
pierce her hair and caress the contours of her
silhouette, and she smiled at me, though I
could only tell by the way her cheeks puffed
out.
She got to her feet and a flood of light
assaulted my pupils, and all went white. I
tried to maneuver, and when I found my
sight, Mary was laughing and holding my
hands. She kissed me sweetly on the mo uth,
and brushed the hair from my face with her
right hand, and brought me over to Luis with
her left.
We stood, all three souls, and held hands
and took in the air, and closed our eyes and
heard the music, and transcended the
universe together.
I (as I assume they did, as well) watched
the fractal images flow behind my lids. The
sun shining through the skin made them
even more intense, more beautiful. These
projections seemed to morph and change
and play with the steady pulse of my breath.
The ground fell from our feet. Our bodies
were
stretched
and
mingled
and
unformulated in a majestic river of energy,
surging. Monumental moments were
seconds of flashes of insight — a blink in
the mind, shutting down our frontal lobes so
we could be completely improvised.
The pattern was a wall, but not
impenetrable. A web. Dark matter. Grey
matter. Potential energy.
And on the other side…
… Luis smelled the smoke first. He told us
to open our eyes. The forest below us was
burning. The flames reached magnificent,
terrifying proportions.
Our journey had to come to an abrupt end.
The effects, still fighting for our attention,
had to be overcome if we were to get out of
this alive.
Luis sat down, cross-legged. He looked out
over the fire for a moment, and then closed
his eyes. Mary looked at me, and I at her,
and she kissed me again on the mouth, more
sweetly than ever, and she sat on the cliffs
edge next to Luis.
A sudden coolness came over me. A calm.
Then a mist. I stood there, and as the flames
took the trees I realized we were beyond
their reach. They could only lick our toes.