Friday, October 23, 2009

The Boy Who Sprouted



i once knew a boy
who lived in a mushroom house
in a mushroom village of nightshade
he came to my window
on the wings of the frost
sailing a maple leaf kite he made
into my hands, he painted
a wriggling gift of spores
then died to a one-cricket serenade

24 comments:

Karen said...

I was loving this - so magical and lilting...and then he died. Jason!!!

Of course, I could look at this another way, with mushrooms and nightshade. What kind of 'shrooms were these?

Gorgeous picture!

Shadow said...

how fantastical! and the picture is juuuuuust right!

M. said...

Magical realism!

Every morning I come to work and almost ineveitably float away on white fluffy clouds for rest of the day!

The strange thing is, some of your poems - like the one titled On the Eve of Dews and Darkness - keep dancing in my consciouness for many days. Sometimes I forget the actual words, but the thought lingers around like a wisp of fragrant smoke that emanates from an aromatic oriental incense stick.

Thanks to you Jason/ Shadow :-)

Tabitha Bird said...

Oh, you didn't just kill the mushroom boy did you? Tell me I read that wrong at the end... JASON!

Beautiful words :)LOVE your poetry.

the walking man said...

The span of the natural life is not as important as the kites flown within that time. A single aria doesn't sound a bad way to lay me down to sleep in the long good night.

Kriti said...

Tragic though the death might be, I feel the impact wouldn't have been as strong if the boy hadn't died.
Kudos! :-)

Laurel said...

I thought it was perfect. Whimsical, delicate, lovely, fleeting. The ephemeral life of a mushroom, whose purpose is satisfied once he's produce spores.

Angie Ledbetter said...

Nice reading for a cool Friday morning.

RA said...

Magical! You have beautifully captured the frail essence of autumn turning into winter...

Pallav said...

Shroooms!

Drugs rock!

N

PixieDust said...

Very lyrical! :-)

love,
me

SzélsőFa said...

to me, this poem suggested that no matter how fragile a moment of joy is, it is joy.
lovely words, Jason.

Nevine Sultan said...

It was almost like a fairy tale. It read like that, felt like that, all the way through to the boy's death... just like that. And an excellent photo to go with it!

Nevine

Anonymous said...

Karen, a sprite that passes with the season. ;) His time had come.

Shadow, when I saw this little village, I had to capture it.

Mayur, your comment means a lot to me. Seriously. It's one thing to have folks enjoy your writing, but it's another to have it be remembered. When something about it sticks with you.... Thanks!!

Tabitha Bird, it was his time. :) But what he left behind...that endures. Glad to have you reading!

Walking Man, very beautiful. That's how I saw it. The end of his natural lifespan.

Creation, he needed to sleep before winter.

Laurel, you've captured what was in my mind exactly. :) Thank you!

Angie, cool is right. I took a motorcycle ride today and got chilled to the bone.

RA, once the frost sets in, everthing will change.

Nothingman, with my luck, they'd make me sick.

PixieDust, thanks!

Szelsofa, I like your reading. The moment was exactly what it was supposed to be.

Nevine, a fairy tale indeed. Just a glimpse. Yet, an entire lifetime.

DILLIGAF said...

Magic!!!!!...er....mushrooms...;-)

Aniket Thakkar said...

Oh one can write a full blown novel on the mushroom land. The pic is that great. The whole 'Honey, I shrunk the kids' flashed before me. :D A bit of Jack, and the bean stalk too.

PS: Lately, I've been getting too many of these flashes. Virtual memory too low in my brain, I guess. :P

Amias (ljm and liquidplastic) said...

Death is not always ugly when it's wrapped up in such a magical tale --- where one knows without a doubt that death is a part of life, and without which, the magic of life would be lost.

Just beautiful Jason ...

Mona said...

I love the tales of Magical realism! Some things live on for just a season & live it fully!

JR's Thumbprints said...

Magical realism? Or hallucination? I guess you could blame it on the shrooms.

Anonymous said...

Four Dinners, there's plenty for everyone!

Aniket, I'd like to visit mushroom land. Who knows who else I'd find there!

Amias, I like your vision. :) A circle of life complete.

Mona, I've been embracing magical realism these days. :)

JR, you're reminding me of the peyote ride in Young Guns. "They can't see us. We're in the spirit world...."

Geraldine said...

Whimsy at it's best! What a range of talents you have Jason. :<)

Anonymous said...

Geraldine, thank you!

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Oh...Jason I just really LOVE this one so much!!!!!!!!!!!! And for all the reasons you might imagine!

Anonymous said...

Kaye, I though this one would speak to you. ;)