As a lifelong zoo/aquarium freedom- crier, this just ignited something in my primal bones! That last scene, naked on the bison... yes! And the woven story of love lost and the cages that we lock ourselves in. Just brilliant. Thanks to Kimberly Warner for pointing me to this section of the library. ;)
Kimberly is just wonderful at introducing people and creating community. I loved the poem of yours she's added below so I'll check your writing out too :)
I have only begun to read your first paragraph, already jumping up in down in my heart with insistent resonance. I will return to it after I share this poem by writer Kendall Lamb. She posted this poem last week and I just have to share with you:
I do not wish to gentle the beast.
…
Give me a God who dwells in feather and bone,
who knows what it is to eat and be eaten,
who understands wholeness
not just through the ecstatic union of lover and beloved
this was glorious / thank you for liberating me from the zoo of my own making into the wild freedom of real life / unpredictable and dangerous / happy and hilarious with possibility / by the way i would be much more open to a one time donation via donor box than a pledge / thank you / thank you
Thanks so much rohn! A pleasure to have you here. Got to say I really like your commenting style :) Read through some more stuff, I think you'll find things to suit you, I hope so. And thanks too for the donation suggestion. I will sort that out. I am so poor at the economics of this place.
yeah just go to donor box and get their little app thing and stick it on your post / just gives your readers another way to support you financially which you richly deserve
"Domesticated we may seem to be, but actually we're wild and free" -- and the compelling scene you painted lifted my heart this morning. Since my power-animal is a sloth (learned from going on a week-end course some years ago to discover one's power-animal), I'm taking it slowly ingesting your wonderful words. But sloths are hugely efficient animals; we don't waste time with non-essentials.
I'm so glad you enjoyed this one, Joshua "The Sloth", I really enjoyed it too :) I get the idea you're attentive to the smallest detail, being a sloth, not much will get past your eye, as if time we're moving at a different pace for you, giving you the space to see more. That's pretty cool.
Abandoning love, or ignoring it for some weird modern perception of freedom... damn we have become so adept at it!
This story feels so urgent and important Jonathan, I hope songbirds are singing loudly where buffalo roam, I hope more than one person is strong enough to find out!
We've all got it in us to reach up and grab a buffalo mane Susie, I think, we just need the right conditions and we're away, galloping toward an new world :)
I also read this one a few times,Jonathan. I keep wanting to comment on individual stories within the story. But this one, I find myself at a loss for words on how I feel or sense the whole. Because as Aristotle’s Metaphysics tells us, “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. And that is what was running through my mind as I pondered this stunning piece. How did we humans become the only creatures on this planet that wear clothes, that bend the wire to make the cages of confinement.But then we all too easily climb right in, without even realizing it. While we let loose one of our most basic needs to survive, love. Because the world feels so fractured at this moment, all I could come up with in my attempt to respond, is someone else’s quote. I have kept this one for years, from the first day I read it, I felt its significance, referring back to it time and again .
“Every one of us is called upon, perhaps many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job...And onward full-tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely the basic instinct...Crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is. (~Barbara Kingsolver)
And I thought of our naked Buffalo rider, picturing his entire escape, as you describe so perfectly. “I ran like the wind and reached up and grabbed the great chestnut mane…”
“I held on for dear, dear life as the great beasts ran in unison toward a new horizon and songbirds sang songs of love into the world.”
I feel like it that quote has been relevant to my entire life! Wonderful.
"I find myself at a loss for words on how I feel or sense the whole", the writer in me immediately worries I've made this to much of a patchwork, to all over the place. Sometimes I think it's the feeling of a piece that counts, so with this one it's partially about being trapped, stuck in time or enclosed and confined to certain expression of the self according to social, historical or physical determinants, and how power is used to create and maintain these expressions of the self. And that all this looking inward toward the promises and lies disable us from escaping and retelling the story of ourselves. And that this mechanism goes from interpersonal to social to political relations. And maybe we should listen to the wilds and the innate deep ancient self instead...Something like that anyway. Sometimes I feel like as much of a witness to my writing as a reader :)
And you're of course entirely right about the fractured nature of the world and the unconsciously climbing into our own incarcerations.
Thank you Lor, I love this comment. It made me think :)
Glad you appreciated that quote. It came from an article about the author, I ripped it out of a magazine, long before I had the internet at my fingertips. No, not too much ‘patch work’ at all. Just me, while reading more pieces of this puzzle , your words conjured ideas and things I remembered along the way. More like I wandering off course, side tracked. Initially, I thought of communes , Vermont was a hotbed, stories have been written many times over, fleeing, liberating themselves from society. One in particular , called Earth People’s Park , on a piece of land consisting of forest and swamp 592 acres .
“… Earth People’s Park was along the international Canadian border and became known locally as “the last left turn in America.”
“Anyone who wanted to visit, camp or homestead was welcomed without having to pay rent and without having to adhere to any set of rules”. Everyone and everything was about shared love and freedoms. And when those same folks were disallusioned (or became tired of freezing their ass of in the coldest part, deepest snow pack of VT , no electricity , no running water no telephones) once again escaping , this time back to their original perceived confinements. Heading back to society. Interesting to read the in-depth interviews from a few individuals that remember the days.
So I decided not to write about it because there was so much more to your story. And I would have written you a novella ,a little bit off topic. Seems you pulled it out of me anyway 😊. Ironically, I feel like I am “a witness“ to your writing . Especially evident here in the Great Escape.
I've often wondered why those kind of places don't work very often. For me I reckon there three things: self-selection, they attract people who may not be the most viable for working together. Non-organic growth, they are clicked together by people with a set of goal ideals (often quite unsustainable or idealistic) who don't foresee the complex interconnected issues that will arise, and finally they carry with them too much of the value systems they are trying to escape and end up reproducing similar problems. It's such a shame because I so much want them to work. Some do, to be fair, but they tend to be very flexible and organic and not ego/hierarchy driven and manage to control the "guru" tendencies of some members, plus they tend to have more realistic goals and expectations.
Weirdly enough I think late stage capitalism with it's massive power and inequality tend to resemble these type of experiment groups more and more. Especially where the internal values are obviously in conflict with members well-being and external environment reality, but they are forced upon us all anyway because of ideological and ego reasons. Seems we're living in a massive right wing cult...the last right turn in America maybe 😳
"so quintessentially The Crow", that's such a great thing to say Julia :) I sometimes worry that my stuff is all over the place (people so love to know what's coming) with essays and fiction and non-fiction that seems to be dodging bullets as it veers here and there. But you've perfectly exactly captured the essence of my writing by saying "Opening the cages and getting our hearts all galloping towards freedom," and I REALLY appreciate that, thanks 🙏🏽
Gah!!!! I feel my heart beating faster as I imagine this wondrous scene! All of it—the animals wild again, of course, but all the implications you so eloquently expressed, and all in the name of love, the one true possibility that could topple these cages once and for all. Jonathan, I will read this again and again, like a prayer, whenever I need to feel the the growling, soaring, thumping power of life untamed.
As a lifelong zoo/aquarium freedom- crier, this just ignited something in my primal bones! That last scene, naked on the bison... yes! And the woven story of love lost and the cages that we lock ourselves in. Just brilliant. Thanks to Kimberly Warner for pointing me to this section of the library. ;)
Thanks so much Kendall.
Kimberly is just wonderful at introducing people and creating community. I loved the poem of yours she's added below so I'll check your writing out too :)
I hadn’t realized she shared that here until now- what a kind thing to do. She really is an alchemist when it comes to forging connections.
I have only begun to read your first paragraph, already jumping up in down in my heart with insistent resonance. I will return to it after I share this poem by writer Kendall Lamb. She posted this poem last week and I just have to share with you:
I do not wish to gentle the beast.
…
Give me a God who dwells in feather and bone,
who knows what it is to eat and be eaten,
who understands wholeness
not just through the ecstatic union of lover and beloved
but perhaps more intimately
through the submission
of a field mouse to the sharp surprise of talons,
soft belly yielding to curved beak,
red ribbons of silk
wetting the dusty throat
of a goshawk
before seeping once again
into the womb of the earth.
…
I do not wish to gentle the beast.
…
You cannot tell me that nothing in Eden
had claw or fang
for tearing into flesh
before Eve
sunk her teeth into the apple.
…
I do not wish to gentle the beast.
…
Tell me instead the story of a woman who—
weary of the garden’s eternal blossoms—
fled through heaven’s gates
to lie down under a dark halo of vultures
just to listen to her own raw and ragged breath,
just to dream of a day when
her heart might finally rest,
her cooling body a feast
for the God of untamed beasts,
her skin softening into the loamy soil,
her marrow greening the leaves of clover
for a little while,
so that she might finally understand
what it is to be known
in all her fragile, fleeting beauty.
Thanks for the beautiful poem Kimberly, loved it and I'll head over to Kendal's writing. You're so kind to introduce me, thanks :)
I read this first thing in the morning. And then a couple more times during the day. I still don't know what to write to you, my friend.
"Hold on for dear, dear life."
That you've read this a few times makes me so happy Fotini. Thanks. If you get an idea let me know :)
In the meantime my grip is string on this dear dear life.
this was glorious / thank you for liberating me from the zoo of my own making into the wild freedom of real life / unpredictable and dangerous / happy and hilarious with possibility / by the way i would be much more open to a one time donation via donor box than a pledge / thank you / thank you
Thanks so much rohn! A pleasure to have you here. Got to say I really like your commenting style :) Read through some more stuff, I think you'll find things to suit you, I hope so. And thanks too for the donation suggestion. I will sort that out. I am so poor at the economics of this place.
yeah just go to donor box and get their little app thing and stick it on your post / just gives your readers another way to support you financially which you richly deserve
🙏🏽
"Domesticated we may seem to be, but actually we're wild and free" -- and the compelling scene you painted lifted my heart this morning. Since my power-animal is a sloth (learned from going on a week-end course some years ago to discover one's power-animal), I'm taking it slowly ingesting your wonderful words. But sloths are hugely efficient animals; we don't waste time with non-essentials.
He he, well the wild and free are good at avoiding traps ;)
I'm so glad you enjoyed this one, Joshua "The Sloth", I really enjoyed it too :) I get the idea you're attentive to the smallest detail, being a sloth, not much will get past your eye, as if time we're moving at a different pace for you, giving you the space to see more. That's pretty cool.
Thank you for not falling into the trap that slothfulness is one of the seven deadly sins.
Abandoning love, or ignoring it for some weird modern perception of freedom... damn we have become so adept at it!
This story feels so urgent and important Jonathan, I hope songbirds are singing loudly where buffalo roam, I hope more than one person is strong enough to find out!
We've all got it in us to reach up and grab a buffalo mane Susie, I think, we just need the right conditions and we're away, galloping toward an new world :)
Every time I see one of your emails come in I smile, knowing I am in for something special. Very special. You never disappoint. 🙏
That is such a wonderful thing to hear. Honestly Michaela, thank you so much. I really like this one so I'm glad you do too pal, thanks :)
This is my own fantasy come to life. Love it!
He he nice :)
I also read this one a few times,Jonathan. I keep wanting to comment on individual stories within the story. But this one, I find myself at a loss for words on how I feel or sense the whole. Because as Aristotle’s Metaphysics tells us, “the whole is greater than the sum of the parts”. And that is what was running through my mind as I pondered this stunning piece. How did we humans become the only creatures on this planet that wear clothes, that bend the wire to make the cages of confinement.But then we all too easily climb right in, without even realizing it. While we let loose one of our most basic needs to survive, love. Because the world feels so fractured at this moment, all I could come up with in my attempt to respond, is someone else’s quote. I have kept this one for years, from the first day I read it, I felt its significance, referring back to it time and again .
“Every one of us is called upon, perhaps many times, to start a new life. A frightening diagnosis, a marriage, a move, loss of a job...And onward full-tilt we go, pitched and wrecked and absurdly resolute, driven in spite of everything to make good on a new shore. To be hopeful, to embrace one possibility after another--that is surely the basic instinct...Crying out: High tide! Time to move out into the glorious debris. Time to take this life for what it is. (~Barbara Kingsolver)
And I thought of our naked Buffalo rider, picturing his entire escape, as you describe so perfectly. “I ran like the wind and reached up and grabbed the great chestnut mane…”
“I held on for dear, dear life as the great beasts ran in unison toward a new horizon and songbirds sang songs of love into the world.”
I feel like it that quote has been relevant to my entire life! Wonderful.
"I find myself at a loss for words on how I feel or sense the whole", the writer in me immediately worries I've made this to much of a patchwork, to all over the place. Sometimes I think it's the feeling of a piece that counts, so with this one it's partially about being trapped, stuck in time or enclosed and confined to certain expression of the self according to social, historical or physical determinants, and how power is used to create and maintain these expressions of the self. And that all this looking inward toward the promises and lies disable us from escaping and retelling the story of ourselves. And that this mechanism goes from interpersonal to social to political relations. And maybe we should listen to the wilds and the innate deep ancient self instead...Something like that anyway. Sometimes I feel like as much of a witness to my writing as a reader :)
And you're of course entirely right about the fractured nature of the world and the unconsciously climbing into our own incarcerations.
Thank you Lor, I love this comment. It made me think :)
Glad you appreciated that quote. It came from an article about the author, I ripped it out of a magazine, long before I had the internet at my fingertips. No, not too much ‘patch work’ at all. Just me, while reading more pieces of this puzzle , your words conjured ideas and things I remembered along the way. More like I wandering off course, side tracked. Initially, I thought of communes , Vermont was a hotbed, stories have been written many times over, fleeing, liberating themselves from society. One in particular , called Earth People’s Park , on a piece of land consisting of forest and swamp 592 acres .
“… Earth People’s Park was along the international Canadian border and became known locally as “the last left turn in America.”
“Anyone who wanted to visit, camp or homestead was welcomed without having to pay rent and without having to adhere to any set of rules”. Everyone and everything was about shared love and freedoms. And when those same folks were disallusioned (or became tired of freezing their ass of in the coldest part, deepest snow pack of VT , no electricity , no running water no telephones) once again escaping , this time back to their original perceived confinements. Heading back to society. Interesting to read the in-depth interviews from a few individuals that remember the days.
So I decided not to write about it because there was so much more to your story. And I would have written you a novella ,a little bit off topic. Seems you pulled it out of me anyway 😊. Ironically, I feel like I am “a witness“ to your writing . Especially evident here in the Great Escape.
I've often wondered why those kind of places don't work very often. For me I reckon there three things: self-selection, they attract people who may not be the most viable for working together. Non-organic growth, they are clicked together by people with a set of goal ideals (often quite unsustainable or idealistic) who don't foresee the complex interconnected issues that will arise, and finally they carry with them too much of the value systems they are trying to escape and end up reproducing similar problems. It's such a shame because I so much want them to work. Some do, to be fair, but they tend to be very flexible and organic and not ego/hierarchy driven and manage to control the "guru" tendencies of some members, plus they tend to have more realistic goals and expectations.
Weirdly enough I think late stage capitalism with it's massive power and inequality tend to resemble these type of experiment groups more and more. Especially where the internal values are obviously in conflict with members well-being and external environment reality, but they are forced upon us all anyway because of ideological and ego reasons. Seems we're living in a massive right wing cult...the last right turn in America maybe 😳
Great tangent, Lor :) I like it.
Jonathan, this piece is so compelling, so quintessentially The Crow. Opening the cages and getting our hearts all galloping towards freedom.
"so quintessentially The Crow", that's such a great thing to say Julia :) I sometimes worry that my stuff is all over the place (people so love to know what's coming) with essays and fiction and non-fiction that seems to be dodging bullets as it veers here and there. But you've perfectly exactly captured the essence of my writing by saying "Opening the cages and getting our hearts all galloping towards freedom," and I REALLY appreciate that, thanks 🙏🏽
Gah!!!! I feel my heart beating faster as I imagine this wondrous scene! All of it—the animals wild again, of course, but all the implications you so eloquently expressed, and all in the name of love, the one true possibility that could topple these cages once and for all. Jonathan, I will read this again and again, like a prayer, whenever I need to feel the the growling, soaring, thumping power of life untamed.
I love this one, something so strong here I think, not surprised at all you see that too K :)
Wow! So compelling! I’m taking this on my morning walk to savor and let the words work on me. Thank you.
Thank you Leah, what an honour to accompany you on your morning walk :)