Palinode (platelets, sign, color)

Posted on by

red

Palinode (platelets, sign, color)

Cloistered, it circulates and combats, feeds, heals
and defends, destroying, at times, its host, and thereby
itself. Extracted, it congeals into a dark symbol,
resembling our innermost facade. The reddened
moon, incorruptible and estranged. A bull’s eye.
I pressure it daily, measuring flow and constricting
elements. Numinous river, source of strength, the internal flood.

The internal flood summons bitterness,  application
of the embodied life, rubedo. I inscribe my name in
three strokes: the upright, the downward curve, the
encompassing circle, omitting the between: as above,
so below. The color-blind more accurately perceive
texture, alleviating the effects of spectral sensitivity.
We build from within, flowing outward in unison.

Flowing outward, split asunder, I assume the neural
response. Color, as expression, as survival factor,
attractant and warning. As symbol. The ancients
buried red pigment with bones to hasten renewal.
Life energy, passion and rage. The force in bodies,
in spirit, in blood. Shade of the alchemist’s sulfur,
glowing embers, ash, the transitory energy of human desire.

This first appeared, in slightly different form, in ditch, in January 2014, and was posted here in January 2017..

18 thoughts on “Palinode (platelets, sign, color)”

  1. Numinous river, indeed! The Life-Death-Life cycle you tap into and explore is a revitalization and a re-grounding of the (mythological/religious) notion of eternity — our “birthright” as children of the natural world (even if it’s understood to be “God’s creation”) isn’t to be disembodied from nature and sent to float about forever in some kind of mindless bliss; rather, it is our eternal, physical connection to the very stuff of life, physically and symbolically. I think Kahlil Gibran was saying something along these lines in The Prophet with the directive, “When you love you should not say, ‘God is in my heart,’ but rather, ‘I am in the heart of God.'”

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply ↓

  4. Pingback: Palinode (platelets, sign, color) — O at the Edges – Kaleidoscope of Faces

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.