Things

Things are finally looking up. After a hard 5 months thanks to certain circumstances and certain people (who were also responsible for the best times), looks like there is some hope after all.

And on my continuing love for Christine Boyka Kluge I present "Guilt" -

I carry it room to room in a shoebox. Sometimes I lift the lid and breathe patterns into its fur. I inhale its perfume of musk and vinegar, wanting to understand it. I admit, I shake the box just to feel it roll side to side, angry at its silence. I can't resist drumming my nails against the cardboard, listening. It grows smaller and heavier. My arms ache from holding it.

I go to bed with the shoebox balanced on my chest, my hands clasped over the lid. My slowing heartbeat taps against its own, only cardboard between us. When sleep loosens my grip, it escapes. I'm startled awake by something cold crawling through my fingers. It gnaws through my skin, into my marrow, burrows deep into the dark place beneath my ribs. There is only one way I can lure it back into its box each morning. I place another scrap of my heart in its thimble-sized bowl.

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I also recommend you see the animated version of it here. I wrote to her telling her how much I am in love with her work. And she replied. Here is an excerpt from her email. Nice, no?

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Hello, Premjit --

Thanks for taking the time to send along such kind words. It is always a boost to know that one's work has affected someone else. I also try to acknowledge artistic efforts when I come across art that impresses me. I enjoyed taking a meandering tour of your sites, and appreciated the many forms your creativity takes, from poetry to filmmaking. (Great title: "Sky Behind Things.") The photographs were striking. No, I don't know The Rachels...I'll have to listen for them.