The Day of the Phoseye

Tales of Resemblances : IX

 

 

 

 

 

The English language could do with a bigger vocabulary. Really. I was looking for a word that implies that a man is looking out of eyes that are crimson in colour and has a trace of moisture in it. But he is not in rage, no not sad, definitely not envious and yeah yeah, not regret. There you go, I simply couldn't find the right word in the dictionary. This, after 80 years of Freud? I'm surprised.

 

There's the word ' poignant.' The dictionary defines it as ' keenly felt.' Then there's the word ' trenchant ' ... meaning ' incisive in expression.' But that's not it either.

 

What do you call that look a canine gives you when you have trained him to stop bullying the cat? Yeah, that's the one ... its not ' trenchant. ' In the movie ' The Man Who Would Be King,' a Nepalese King who is helped by two former British soldiers is told that massacring villagers and taking their booty is a thing of the past. The world according to these Brits is getting more civilized. That ... that look the Nepalese King had ... that's the one. Its not poignant.

 

In such situations a man, particular about meaning is forced to be inventive at least until the dictionary catches up. So I viewed the eyes again and decided that it had the quality of burning phosphorus. No ... not like sulphur and brimstone ... just ... just ... phosphorus. So I call it Phoseye.

 

We often see this in the experience of young men and women. Its probably due to an early experience of Ethiopia ... no, that's not the word ... I meant Utopia. And then finding out that the world may well be a very cruel place. But the question is, ' was the kid trying to be a Nepalese King?' I guess along with civilization, the world of the explorer gentleman is being refined into an exploration in other ways.

 

No longer do we get the opportunity to find the source of the Zambesi but there are obviously many other things we can have an adventure with. Like words, thinking, expression and communication. Why not? It is obviously the last frontier. Strange that as a civilizing experience, we kept it for last.

 

I had a dream recently of a King coming out of his cave and meeting me and a bull that was nearby. I'm not sure if he saw me. He was blind.