space and place

ghosts

the inhabitants of the shadowlands. they are my companions, my progeny. i carve them out of the milky water with paint and patience, they come to life bit by bit becoming part of a greater story. my story, a story untold and imagined with richness and finesse.

Red Wing Black Birds

The day was hot. The hills rolled in the heat like a huddled animal, arid this time of year. The sun beat down on the parched, empty fields, releasing smells of California sage. It came through the windows in dry, musky bursts, mixing with the cigarette smoke. It was too hot to talk, too hot to do anything but turn up the radio and drive faster. The sameness of the vast fields and faded, yellow hills were punctuated with dark wild oaks. Where did that smell of sage come from? It was intoxicating, a guilty smell like marijuana.
Each field was speckled with small dark shadows. Small shapes that went unnoticed till they burst into life and rose in unison, drifting one way and the the other, then shooting together in front of the car, causing a sudden involuntary slowing, each bird with flashing red danger signs on their wings, warning with a breathless, sudden movement. Once the shock faded, with a laugh, I picked up speed and drove faster than before.

the first story

THE STORY OF THE LAST GIANT

at first the giants were really giant. they reached for the stars with the crowns of their heads. the air they breathed was the thin air of the upper atmosphere. the people were so small, the cowered under rocks when the giants walked by, not even noticing the small humans below. but time passed, and as it did, each new generation of giants was smaller, not noticeable at first, but after a while grandparents could carry their grandchildren around long after they had fully grown. they became sad, and the humans no longer cowered when they came near. soon there were just a few giants left, 50, then 25 then just about a dozen or so, and then, there was one giant left. he roamed around looking for others like him, but there were only humans, and they did not always notice that he was a giant. and when they did, they laughed and poked him with spears.