Flying in Vapor: Friday Fractal LXXII

I figured I'd post this fractal set while it is still Friday somewhere (here in Colorado, for instance.) My thoughts on it follow below.

i-1340bcbcea2574b4cb383ddcc2e1256b-newwavfr.png

Flying in Vapor:
A poem and a fractal for riding the waves

I know what it's like

To be down in the water

And tossed by the waves

Each day, crashing into the next

Pulling me, seething, frothing

Falling

Exhilarating ride through time

Through the tumbling surf

Dance on the shimmering crests

Only then to be pushed beneath

Into the surrounding, suffocating

Cold

Plunging and diving

Grows wearisome after a while

And so I'll ride above

Flying, so to speak

Everywhere is fluid being

But this

Is where you'll find me

Where moments fade to mist

Wind and linger like a dream

Tendrils of memory grow into day

Wisps of what never was

Here or there

Ages pass, fallen waves

Tumbling to the shore

Tossing pebbles into sand.

I can't decide if I like this poem or not. When I first wrote it, I was pleased with it, but knew I'd need to work on it a bit. The more I tried to do that, the more bothered I became. I think it might be the inconsistent meter... it goes from being rhythmic to halting and back, without pause. Yet, that erratic structure fits the message of the poem pretty well... Time seems to pass like that, lilting and jarring at one moment, then smooth and manageable the next. Although, to be honest, when I end up thinking about it, it has usually gone the other way around... from a smooth ride to, well, chaos.

I'd like to simply blame those moments on moodiness. But a bad mood can be overlooked with enough will and reason. Sometimes, even in the best of spirits, the unexpected seems to happen. Take this week, for instance. I hoped this poem would be the start of a nice stretch of writing... I had the time, I had the inspiration... what more could I want? Then, of course, came the unexpected, including snow, late buses, and a flu virus (which my son caught). Rising above it doesn't seem as easy as it did when I started that silly poem. Perhaps that just means I need to write another to compliment it. Or, maybe it just means I should say, thank goodness it's Friday.

All works by the author; fractal created using ChaosPro.

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tags: A Dream Deferred, Langston Hughes,
tags: At the Quinte Hotel, Al Purdy,
Reading this article reminds me that I forgot to talk about the poetry reading from a few weeks ago.
My e-pal, Digital Cuttlefish, who is "teh Bard ov da Intert00bz" wrote this amazing poem publicly promoting my candidac

Karmen, Hi!
Nice to see the creative impuls kicked in again.
You may have your doubts about the meter, but I find it a very good thing that the form reflects the content.
Also: amazing fractal! I love it.
It reminds me at the same time of a snowy mountainscape like I've seen in the Alps, and of that Japanese woodblock printing by Hokusai: "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." (A work of art perhaps very much suited for you...)

By kim boone (not verified) on 05 Feb 2008 #permalink

There! Just made it my background.

Bye.

By kim boone (not verified) on 05 Feb 2008 #permalink

Kim, you're pretty observant. Hokusai is one of my greatest inspirations. I adore the whole Fuji collection (enough that I hope to someday do "36 views of Long's Peak", a nearby mountain that often reminds me of Fuji-san.) The "Great Wave off Kanagawa" is definitely one of my favorites, and has inspired a number of my fractals.

Yeah, I thought you might've known it already. Even before this fractal your writing sometimes made me think of this work.
I once saw a documentary on Hokusai, and those images still linger in my head since then.
Would your "36 views of Long's Peak" be poems, photograps, fractals, a combination of the above, or even something completely different? Certainly would be a great project.
Bye...

By kim boone (not verified) on 06 Feb 2008 #permalink

Mijn leven is een stoel met scheve poten,
Mijn innerlijk is echt niet zo stabiel.
Vaak val ik zelfs inwendig op mijn kloten,
Al heb ik dan geen kloten aan mijn ziel.

Joe Roxy.

Sorry, I don't feel the english language enough to translate this as it should be. But it captures the way I feel in a serious/humoristic way.

By kim boone (not verified) on 07 Feb 2008 #permalink