Enlightenment

Ever wish you could save the world?

     She stared out her classroom window and watched a plastic bag blowing across the well-manicured lawn. She wondered, if she let go, if her soul would become light enough to just blow around the world.  She imagined floating high in the sky, staring in the windows of high rise apartments, seeing life at its most intimate, the occupants sharing food, angry thoughts and awkward love making. Watching to see if a woman brushing her teeth in the morning would do it before bed time as well, as she is sure she tells her dentist she does.

     She imagines flying low to the ground through construction sites, where sweaty men work toward a retirement full of arthritic backs, skin cancer and drinking problems born of a self professed responsibility to feed their families and their own vices, sometimes more the latter than the former. She wondered how many memories should could fit inside herself before the weight of the world would be so heavy that flying became an impossibility.

    She thought that night time would bring cool winds and the glow of lights in which she could see the writers, the artists and the musicians practicing to become more than the sum of their dreams.  She loves the pajamas, the late-night raids of the ice cream and the one man  that would surely be surfing the high definition images of his favorite creamy white thighs and dreaming of a tryst filled with danger and delicious delight.

     She didn’t want to understand the universe. She wanted to be the universe and know all of things that were true and unknowable. She wanted to be filled with the warmth of understanding, the elevation of compassion and the crisp sweet tang of electricity. She longed to hold the human race in her bosom and cradle the fears and triumphs, washing over their lives with a wave of security and a notion that they were useful, beautiful and loved.

     She turned her attention back to the front of the classroom and listened to the teacher do his best to impart the wisdom of the world that he knew and she knew it wouldn't be enough.  When the bell rang she gathered her books, walked to the front of the class and set them on the teachers desk.

 

     “Where are you going,” the teacher asked.

     “Somewhere that rings true and calms my mind and spirit."

     “Will you be back?”

     “Look for me outside your window, I will be there watching over you.”

     “Can I come?”

    “When you understand who you are, you will find a light at the bottom of your dream.  You will find me there."

Author's Note

Another thigh reference for Queenie...apparently its a recurring theme in my Freudian poetry romps.

Reviews

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

This is really good. I would say for the first 90%, the feeling that your words evoked reminded me of the feeling that I got when watching the movie, "A Ghost Story," starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara. It isn't your typical ghost story nor is it a horror movie. It's a movie about a man who has died and returned as a ghost, trying to connect, but unable to do so. As he looks out of the window, he sees the ghost of another who has departed next door. They wave somberly to one another. What seems cheesy on the surface - a ghost in a white sheet - really conveys so well the sadness of that ghost. If you haven't seen it and you are the kind of person who likes to immerse yourself into a film without the need for immediate gratification, I highly recommend watching it. It really tugs at your senses. As you witness the grief-stricken wife mourn the loss of her husband, while the ghost of her husband watches her, wanting to soothe her and not being able to do so, it just breaks your heart. Eventually she moves away, his ghost staring from the window, unable to leave. Then, over time, the house is torn down; and the ghost is standing outside. I could go on and on about this exceptionally moving movie. But back to your poem … While the first 90% reminded me of the feelings that the movie evoked, the last 10% seems lighter. There is a possibility and a hopefulness to it that I really like - the light at the bottom of a dream. Beautiful!

[Crowley]

I will definitely check it out! That sounds fantastic! Thanks for the awesome review, on the lighter side for me. I love thinking about people’s desires and identifying with their emotions.

[Robert Trakofler]

I enjoyed this story very much Crowley the idea of existing as a ghost... a witness surveyor of all humanity the weight of this would I imagine be excruciating indeed. I think as writers all of us get that sense at times for me the ache comes from never fully framing the conveyance well enough for me and that sense of desperation to send that conveyance to change the one pebble in the water that over time creates a wave if you throw enough pebbles into the pool:)

[Crowley]

Thanks BB! I wish it were that easy to pull off. I love people and moreover identifying with their thoughts and emotions. Thank you again my friend!

[emmajoy]

What wonderful thoughts here laid, presented and shared, Crowley! Whether or not i should have read them a sixth time, remains to be seen - in your mind's eyes

Seems our dreams come true when we fly with their meanings anywhere and everywhere. If i gather correctly even a little, we need go with both mind and imagination, not holding back on anything felt or seen, whether it be life in the full or how we feel it can be. Perhaps?

Enlightenment in the most minute way is opening a great door just little by little.. by little. Perhaps?

[Crowley]

Awww Emma!!! Thanks so much. You know me, would rather be flying and observing. People are so interesting. I just love watching them and trying to get a feel for kindred experience. Thank you!!!!

[emmajoy]

You know how much I meant what i 'wrote'.

[Crowley]

I do....thanks Emma.

[alanwgraham]

I like this short story a lot Crowley. I sometimes get these expansive flights of imagination and its not always a god thing. (I actually meant to write good there but I think god works better) You've chosen well your snapshot into the mundane ups and downs of peoples lives. The final conversation between the girl and her teacher is intriguing - perhaps this has happened before.
Thanks for the read!
Alan

[Crowley]

Thanks Alan!!! Just a piece of fluff from a hopeless romantic who thinks about hope a little too much.

[barleygirl]

I love how you've taken us on a little flight of imagination. There might've been a couple suggestive references, but by far that vibe does not dominate your journey. It's more about open space, freedom, & serendipity. I love the way your stream of ideas is free to romp around people-created boundaries and dance on the edge of reality (((HUGS))) Fondly, Margie

[Crowley]

I think if you and I flew around like that it would be too much fun, we would never come down!!! Thanks Margie!!!

[Annette Pisano-Higley]

Shades of Sir J.M. Barrie, L. Frank Baum, O. Henry, Herman Hesse....”Enlightenment”- perfect title and image. Crowley, you write of a coming of age, of a dawning consciousness- “she wanted to be the universe and know of all things that were true and knowable.” Whomof us does not remember this sweet and bubbling epiphany? Great metaphor- flying into the windows of life and observing the occupants with their flings, foibles, fears and dreams- their humanity. Loved the arias and the “thighs” of this write. I wish the last line had come from my pen...Bravo!!

[Crowley]

Wow , that is good company...lol. I do wish that the dawning of consciousness were more like this for everybody, I think it would be easier for people to understand one another and the fact that we aren't connected but instead we are all the center, radiating and giving ourselves something to identify with. Here's to the hope and the dreams of understanding.

[dead letter office]

well writ!

There is a place in ʼAdam, we have eternity written in our hearts and we recognize the wrongness of the current state of the world: its confusion, conflict, and looming death. We hope for a deeper life, for saving not only ourselves but our families-race-species, the cosmos. The cosmos is too big as is the earth, we can't even save ourselves from death or destructive habits... so many (including educated young) folks commit suicide deliberately or addiction. We need hope and you've captured that here. What's missing is... since salvation lies not within ourselves, where do we find it? Who can save us from ourselves?

[Crowley]

That is a good question. And depending on your own personal beliefs an answerable one. Thanks so much for the review!!!!

[Gypsy Warrior Queen]

Okay, so dont be alarmed by the number of views without reviews....I mean Ive only come back to read this like 4 or 5 times :)

[Crowley]

Come back as often as you like...but send me your food list...I want to make something spectacular!!!!

[raj24]

Its beautiful work, flying plastic bags, I never thought they can be our guides in understanding this world in a different way. I likes the whole imagination, especially the last part and last line, when we know who we are, we will certainly find our dreams. Thanks for writing and guiding us.
Raj

[Crowley]

Thanks for the read, I appreciate the stop!!!