Stories
The Dancer and The Following Dark .
There is a ship on the horizon, carrying a container that confines a lonely soul, who can’t see where the ship is taking him, only feels where it has been.
There is a dancer, dancing in her own light. Her space glows with a warmth he doesn’t allow himself to feel. She invites him to come closer, to join her, but he feels undeserving of the light she offers – preferring the shelter of the following dark. For he believes his steely space keeps others safe, spares them the pain of who he is yet to become. But his reluctance to join her deals a much sharper blow.
Her efforts to spin him into her embrace, her offering to feel the soothing space where her fingertips touch the soft painted sky that holds her balanced in the shadows, falls into the dark space between them.
She wonders if he misunderstands her offering. For she doesn’t long for him to dance her dance. Her only want is that he allows her dance to hold him in a moment she believes he deserves. And that he’ll step from the following dark, carrying nothing more than a desire for moments – and the freedom to dance in his own light.
(Reposted from 2014. Art journal page by Harley Manifold . Find in ‘Clunk & Jam’ book.)
Robin Small was unbearably awkward in pubic and so began the battle of – what to do with hands .
Footnote: Not everyone sits comfortably in the world or in social situations. Which isn’t a weakness. Simply a difference. It’s brave to explore where you feel you ‘fit’ in in the world. To not deviate under the pressure to conform.
October 12, 2018 - Sad Book
This is me being sad.
Maybe you think I’m happy in this picture.
Really I’m sad but pretending I’m happy.
I’m doing this because I think people won’t like me if I look sad.
Sometimes I want to talk about all this to someone.
Like my mum. But she’s not here anymore, either. So I can’t.
I find someone else. And I tell them all about it.
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Footnote: Not everyone is confident socially. And if you’re someone who is comfortable in their own company, often others aren’t comfortable with that. And a lot of kids get bullied because they don’t fit in too. The ultimate place to get to perhaps if you’re a ‘Bags the back seat’ person is being quietly confident, solidly grounded in your own place – despite the reactions and views of those around us.
Society generally looks down on the ‘loner’ too. Those who are different, those who live in their own quiet company. And for those who like all the attention, there’s something unsettling, almost threatening, about the quiet observer—one who looks on. Doesn’t join in. This ‘Ink’ also raises questions about position and status. What comes to mind are things like, ‘working your way to the top’, ‘climbing the ladder’, ‘securing the lead role’, being ‘top of the class’, ‘first over the line’, ‘making it to the top’ and ‘rising star’. And you’ll have more of your own to add. But the back seat has it’s advantages, particularly the seat on the isle – at least have the freedom to get up and leave.
(Reposted from 2009. Originally in ‘Rock The Boat’ book, 2009. Now in Clunk & Jam book, 2019.)
Heroic Friendship .
A Super Hero heroic friend, is someone who drops in at precisely the right moment, taking you in, up and beyond yourself, with no need for detail or explanation – because they have no need to know.
A Super Hero heroic friend, is comfortable enough in pain and role to welcome you in your own, tenderly cradling your place in time – and leaving the threads alone.
A Super Hero heroic friend’s words not only catch and soothe but wrap around shoulders made soft and light – as you lap long in the lingering warmth.
A Super Hero heroic friend, hovers quiet and long and never really leaves even when you go. Is solid enough to carry you with no show of strain – remaining loyal throughout your endless cause.
(Reposted from 2012. Picture from ‘Coles Funny Picture Book’. Find in Clunk & Jam book.)
Fremantle Art Centre paste-ups of Rose and Robin. In the 1860’s the Fremantle Art Centre was then a lunatic asylum where women and children (as young as 9) were locked up for being considered socially deviant; not being sound of mind; having a child out of welock; a disability; drinking too much; or discarded by their husbands for behaving badly. They were referred to as prisoners on arrival, had their heads shaved and were given second hand prison uniforms patterned with convict ‘bread arrow’ symbols. With no therapy, many stayed 20-4o years or until they died.
The hope is that the spirits of these women and children are slightly soothed by Rose and Robin’s quiet presence within its walls.
Today the Fremantle Art Centre is a thriving community hub where families picnic in the safe, shady grounds; people attend music concerts and art exhibitions; do art courses; and relax within the beautiful historic walls and surrounding gardens.
