******************************** History of the Nile , Paul Klee , 1937 **************************The couple have been on a decades long journey, and it’s been ok for the most part.
I've only ever thought of "Death" as one being--kinda like one "Santa Claus." The idea you've raised here that there could be multiple ones following each of us around gave me pause. I'm not sure if the ending--it was "only" a snake--made me more relieved or less. :)
The first graph is really really good, and honestly, Tod, I think this may be my favorite of your pieces of all time so far. There is something about this that seems to transcend your other pieces, though they have all been good and I still love the Swane story. Can I ask you, Tod, where this story originated? Like, when did it come to you, and what does it mean to you? (No pressure, just curious is all...)
Yes you can, my friend. Because I wrote this off the top of my head, with no forethought, or thought of any kind, I"ll have to think about your questions, and see if I can come up with a response worthy of your questions.
Because I think, on some level, all writing is partly autobiographical. And this seemed so authentic in ways that the others weren't quite so much. Not that they were not as strong, but just that I didn't sense a "you" in them as much as in this text. But I also think as we write off the top of our heads, as it were, it's like psychoanalysis kind of. We write in the moment and without much analysis and it's in those moments that maybe our inner selves reveal us most. Just a thought.
Where did it come from? A bunch of places probably. I spend a lot of time walking in landscapes that appeal to me. I've done that, mostly alone, since I was a young boy. I'm attracted to remote and weather worn coastlines with remnants of preindustrial human activity. This is not a specific place, but made up, from years of walking. Then, I'm at an age now when lots of friends and acquaintances have passed over the bar. Recently there are indications I may be mortal too, : ) so no surprise the fellow on horseback with the scythe, or scimitar, or whatever he carries, comes to mind now and then. There's a couple there because being part of a couple is so natural, and perhaps, unnatural at the same time : ) The woman and the boy come along because just the two of them didn't feel like enough, like they needed someone else to see them to be real . Also, it's suggested that the young don't see death, but , the boy is capable of dishing it out without giving it a thought. Which I think is pretty accurate, so far as young boys go, in my experience. So I don't know if this answers your questions, if not please continue.
Yes, it does, though our answers probably morph with more time. But I’m right with you. We approach this age and there’s this feeling of being the proverbial last man standing. The past is the future, the defining moments of our lives provide fodder for our stories. Those who have peopled our histories become our heroes, heroines, villains of our narratives. I also think writing allows us to work out in text what we’ve failed to achieve in life. At least, I think that’s what often drives my writing. I’m constantly working the crap out. Still.
It’s a good way to freak someone out though.
I've only ever thought of "Death" as one being--kinda like one "Santa Claus." The idea you've raised here that there could be multiple ones following each of us around gave me pause. I'm not sure if the ending--it was "only" a snake--made me more relieved or less. :)
The first graph is really really good, and honestly, Tod, I think this may be my favorite of your pieces of all time so far. There is something about this that seems to transcend your other pieces, though they have all been good and I still love the Swane story. Can I ask you, Tod, where this story originated? Like, when did it come to you, and what does it mean to you? (No pressure, just curious is all...)
Yes you can, my friend. Because I wrote this off the top of my head, with no forethought, or thought of any kind, I"ll have to think about your questions, and see if I can come up with a response worthy of your questions.
Because I think, on some level, all writing is partly autobiographical. And this seemed so authentic in ways that the others weren't quite so much. Not that they were not as strong, but just that I didn't sense a "you" in them as much as in this text. But I also think as we write off the top of our heads, as it were, it's like psychoanalysis kind of. We write in the moment and without much analysis and it's in those moments that maybe our inner selves reveal us most. Just a thought.
Where did it come from? A bunch of places probably. I spend a lot of time walking in landscapes that appeal to me. I've done that, mostly alone, since I was a young boy. I'm attracted to remote and weather worn coastlines with remnants of preindustrial human activity. This is not a specific place, but made up, from years of walking. Then, I'm at an age now when lots of friends and acquaintances have passed over the bar. Recently there are indications I may be mortal too, : ) so no surprise the fellow on horseback with the scythe, or scimitar, or whatever he carries, comes to mind now and then. There's a couple there because being part of a couple is so natural, and perhaps, unnatural at the same time : ) The woman and the boy come along because just the two of them didn't feel like enough, like they needed someone else to see them to be real . Also, it's suggested that the young don't see death, but , the boy is capable of dishing it out without giving it a thought. Which I think is pretty accurate, so far as young boys go, in my experience. So I don't know if this answers your questions, if not please continue.
Yes, it does, though our answers probably morph with more time. But I’m right with you. We approach this age and there’s this feeling of being the proverbial last man standing. The past is the future, the defining moments of our lives provide fodder for our stories. Those who have peopled our histories become our heroes, heroines, villains of our narratives. I also think writing allows us to work out in text what we’ve failed to achieve in life. At least, I think that’s what often drives my writing. I’m constantly working the crap out. Still.
this story is a metaphor
it's all said in the first paragraph
death is a reward
T, are you sure You wrote this?
Big impact, but not your style of telling.
I'm sure I wrote this.