Rose was a complete stranger to rejection because she never gave anything away – and what she had wasn’t up for grabs .
Rose keeps close to chest the many varied and precious pieces that make up her belongings – and herself. This commitment and loyalty she exhibits ensures Rose remains a one and only, high creative traveler of poetic and art-filled paths – to wherever she happens to arrive. Long Live Rose.
Wonder about the disconnect within the world of screens …
Imagine….peering through a cake shop window. The longing. The want. The drool. A space you desire to enter – and know you can. Through the glass, see the temptations before you. Grasp the definite depth and dimension of space occupied by cake on tray and shelf – in mind. Feel the common ground you share – the inside and out. The reality of the moment, not before or beyond, but right before your eyes.
Stand fixed to the common ground between you (cake and mouth), in a world you both belong – sliced in temporary two. Now imagine … the shelves begin to move towards you. The box space of the window flattens to a screen. And the place through which you were once connected, narrows to nothing.
Gone…. is the act of entering through a welcoming door into the warm space of another. The possibility for taste, sniff and touch. Gone … are we on a ‘pie crust promise’ from an endless space. Gone … is reality. The time and space to sit and wonder. And wonder we should, if the loss includes the joy of personal discovery. The capacity for the mind to bend, stretch and strengthen through real lives fully and truly lived. Going, going, gone is the wisdom once held by the earth and sky of a planet in no rush.
Then….’Ding-a-ling’ goes the bell on the cake shop door and you step into the faithfulness of the sniff and taste – and touch.
Footnote: Photo taken in St Kilda, Melbourne. A ‘pie crust promise’ is a Mary Poppins line – ‘Easily made – easily broken’.
This little soldier finally realised that being the fairest isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and looking up to stars can be dangerous – especially when they fall. And that ‘way up high’, ‘over the rainbow’ and ‘climbing the ladder’ are sometimes dangerous places to try and reach. And too far away to possibly get there on time.
Footnote: It’s such a competitive world. There’s a strong current drawing us up, up and away from who we are – or are comfortable and content being. Acceptance, popularity, success and fitting in, can feel so out of reach. It can feel impossible to meet the expectations of others. Until the question arises – what and who determines our worth? It’s also wise to question the notion that a sense of belonging exists somewhere outside ourselves. And that bigger and the better and more determines if we are – ‘enough’. It’s potentially a hothouse for discontent. Home? Home can be a building, a place, but it can also be a secure feeling within yourself.
The feather? Perhaps a reminder to hold tight and true to our uniqueness, strengths and even strangeness, despite the world’s mirror reflecting back little to support diversity and difference. (See the film, ‘Dumbo’, original movie trailer below. Tim Burton’s adaption was released in 2019). The pumpkin? Maybe that’s about Cinderella. Her tenacity and creativeness in getting to where she wants to be – on her own terms.
(Reposted from 2009. Originally in ‘Rock The Boat’ handmade book, 2009. Handwriting by Mags. Now in Clunk & Jam book, 2019)
Below is an excerpt from a student’s exploration of the book, ‘Clunk & Jam’, for an English assignment. Thank you RB for choosing Clunk & Jam to review and the personal insights you’ve written about and kindly (bravely) shared …
‘The Super Hero series stems from Browne always having had a strong social conscience and being very sensitive – particularly to the suffering of others, or bad things happening. There was a part of her that wanted to save the world (the child/teenage) – knowing full well she couldn’t (the adult self). “I was one of those kids who felt really responsible for people around me and what was happening. And then I had experiences where no-one showed up for me, so I lost faith in the notion of real life Super Heroes.”
Rose does things her own peculiar way, never relinquishing personal plans of the most unconventional type. She confidently makes unadvised decisions which often place her outside of all things mainstream. Rose fully embraces this difference, the unique directions she plots, and the independence her own decision making affords her. She works within a space-like time frame, creating objects galore that keep her safe and sound in mind – and well outside the orbit of others. Long Live Rose.
Footnote: ‘Taking her life into her own hands’ may be about not only about being self reliant but also keeping all the good things safe and close. Protecting those things from the tendency many of us have of self sabotaging and diminishing our own worth. Protecting all parts of ourselves from the horrible habit of comparison maybe? And within that small, precious space, setting our own limits. Being less our own enemy and dimmer of our potential.
I wouldn’t be anyone’s box of chocolate, but my difference would be why I’d be chosen by those who feel it too. I imagine I’d be loosely wrapped in fine white paper soft that breathes and whispers the essence of my humble beginnings – melts in mouth. I’d have a centre soft to roll with ease around the palate, and linger long and thoughtful high above the swallow. My shelf life would be preserved for those in search of something true, and those who cherish the longing, the mystery and the joy of not being found. I think I’d rather not be credited as sweet or popular or nice, just simply filed in mind as unusual and very interesting to sample.
And to be a better chocolate? I’d add time to sift all that’s new and stir the bowls of dark and light. Adding a little at a time. And behold. I save the best for last. With a solitary quiet, “Dah, dah”, the moment when my chocolate self settles warm in its new-found form, and the mould just melts away.
Footnote: Image from CD cover of Grace Jones ‘Hurricane’ album. Reposted from 2012. Find in book, Clunk & Jam.
