“He wondered what she wondered and if she wondered what he wondered when she had time to wonder. But he couldn’t wonder when he had to do what he had to do, or she had to do what she had to do, but when he didn’t, and she didn’t, they did wonder.”
Category: Philosophy
“Roman éClair” (I)
What are those? said Alex. They are papers for my English class. Your English class? said Alex. Yes, said Blurtso, the teacher showed us a book called, “Romans éclairs,” by Bernard Teyssèdre. It contains a series of one-paragraph novels. One-paragraph novels? said Alex. Yes, said Blurtso, “roman” means “novel,” and “éclair” means “lightining,” therefore “lightning novel.” Would you like to hear my first one? I’d love to, said Alex.
“She looked at him because he was looking, and he looked back. Then she spoke when he wasn’t speaking, and he spoke back, and they both listened. Time stood still while it passed, and no one saw what they were seeing when he spoke and she spoke and they both listened. And no one heard what they were hearing when they were both hearing.”
“Ditto imagines the top of a tree”
Look at the top of that tree, thought Ditto. I wonder if it’s windy up there… and frightening… and cold? I wonder what it would be like to grow so high up and exposed… day after day after day?
“Graham Cracker Crumbs” (IX)
“A lesson in beauty”
Because the flowers hide patiently
under the cool blanket of autumn,
because the spring comes quietly
with the sound of melting snow,
because the breeze touches softly
with the fresh fragrance of summer,
I will have to learn to see,
to listen and to feel,
if I am to find you.
“Graham Cracker Crumbs” (VIII)
“I cannot offer”
The hills do not know me
and the waves erase my name,
I cannot offer the gifts of the earth.
I cannot offer the broad mountain and wild rose,
the moody sky and its quarreling clouds.
My hooves are frightened,
they fall on the rocky path,
and they tear on the virgin thorns.
Because its waters do not call me,
I cannot offer the gifts of the earth.
But you sprang from the soil.
You awoke in the blue day
that echoed in the trees,
opened your arms, and embraced the dawn.
Your voice flew from branch to branch,
and your happy hooves played,
laughing with the stream.
The wind whispered secrets of the stone,
and the sun sketched your soul
with stretching shadows.
I cannot offer the earth,
so I wait the night in silence
to admire your midnight crown.
“Blurtso loses track” (III)
What are you looking at? said Harlan. There’s a crack in one of the window panes, said Blurtso. Is there? said Harlan. Yes, said Blurtso, a hairline crack in the bottom-right corner of the left door. So there is, said Harlan. It makes you think about the rest of the glass, said Blurtso, and the other panes that are still intact. Yes it does, said Harlan. Glass is an amazing thing, said Blurtso. It’s made of sand, said Harlan. Is it? said Blurtso. Yes, said Harlan, quartz sand that has been heated to over 4,000 degrees fahrenheit. I didn’t know that, said Blurtso. Glass is often overlooked, said Harlan. Yes it is, said Blurtso, until it has a crack. Do you think it should be replaced? said Harlan. I don’t know, said Blurtso, the windows are laminated so it probably won’t spread. Oh yes, said Harlan, I forgot. And we might miss the crack, said Blurtso, when it’s gone. Yes, said Harlan, and lose our appreciation for the panes that are not cracked.
“Blurtso looks at the snow” (XXI)
They say the more deeply you can feel pleasure, the more deeply you will suffer. I hope that’s not true, because I’ve been stuffed with pleasure.
“Blurtso jumps” (V)
Hmm, thought Blurtso, that was quite a week. First I was no one, then I set a record, then I was famous, then I was banned, then I was no one… all because I slid down a hill on a couple of sticks. I sure am glad insanity is fleeting.
“Blurtso jumps” (IV)
Where are the reporters, said Alex, and the paparazzi? They’re gone, said Blurtso. Why? said Alex. Because the Olympic Committee disqualified my jump. Why? said Alex. Because I jumped on four hooves, said Blurtso, and they said the binding attaching my front hooves to the skis made it easier to keep my tips up, which gave me greater lift, and resulted in the world record. And I was also disqualified because I’m a donkey. Well, said Alex, don’t feel too bad, the Olympic Committee didn’t allow women to ski jump in the Olympics until 2014. What?! said Blurtso. Yes, said Alex. That’s shameless discrimination, said Blurtso, do you think they’ll ever let donkeys jump? No, said Alex, but if they do, the story of your record will be a great inspiration. Really? said Blurtso. Sure, said Alex, you’re a pioneer. Wow, said Blurtso, like Babe the blue ox!
“Blurtso jumps” (III)
Blurtso? said Alex. Hmm? said Blurtso. Why are you hiding? Because of the people, said Blurtso. The TV trucks? said Alex, and reporters and paparazzi and helicopters? Yes, said Blurtso. Why are they here? said Alex. I competed in my first meet today, said Blurtso. And? said Alex. And I jumped 276 meters, said Blurtso. So? said Alex. It was a new world record. Oh, said Alex.