swishism

Apparently, strictly speaking, the anti-spyware program that fixed everything on my laptop recently, didn’t know whats it was looking for; it starts from a place of ‘being stuck’, and looks for attributes and characteristics that look fishy. Perhaps this is how the dancer put together her routine in the first part of this series?

When I was at Primary (Elementary) school, I remember thinking “Why are the teachers always giving us scissors and Golden Gum glue, and not much guidance (well, my phrasing was different back then, but you get the idea). Turns out they didn’t know why either*, they just knew that giving kids a set of guarded blades, and Stephen’s golden gum, got results - chiefly the passage of time, but also some innovation.

I guess I do most of my writing this way, on the look out for attributes and
characteristics that resonate with me because of their pith, rhythm, or timeliness…

it just gets me excited with / ideas and commensurate split decisions–dividing swish
and at the same time multiplying his / narrative by 3, first to third person, with new biases

Seriously though, whilst kids don’t always have great discernment. They have the chutzpah to truly create and edit whatever they feel like. They don’t call it interpretation, or heuristics, or ‘throwing it at the wall’, but they do know when it’s stuck. I guess that’s the kind of ’stuck’ adults could use, too.

*I can safely say this, now that I teach

swishism entry creativity, habit, just do it, kids

Shout out to photographer Rod Lewis for allowing me to repost his excellent poem and shot, entitled supplication, for a swishism that’s a personal favourite of mine.  Thanks Rod. Check out his photostream here.

Supplication

God of paint and canvas,
Have mercy on us.
God of light and composition,
Hear our prayer

God of pen and paper,
of Phrase and
line-break, Have mercy on us

God of Sound and Silence,

Hear our prayer.

God of Melody and Rhythm,
God of strophe and refrain
God of diction and dialect
Have mercy on us

God of the mops and washing machines
of the weed-eater and lawnmower
Hear our prayer

God of breakfast, lunch and dinner
God of hockey, ballet, band and ball
Have mercy on us
God of accountants and weekend warriors
God of admin assistants and closet poets
Hear our prayer

We’ve abandoned you in our abandoned ambitions.
We are masters of the mundane,
bereft of expression.
Our focus is short of the sunsets you paint.
Our sleepy eyes miss the eruption of
multi-chromatic mercies.
The hum of HVAC drowns the rustle of leaves.

We’ve replaced your art
with our mediocrity,
We’ve replaced our art
with daily drudgery.
Even the daily glory of the grind,
The beauty in the banal, is
Lost on us in our rush.
Show us your creativity in our craft,

Let us feel your pleasure in
A colored canvas and unmade bed.
Smile on our song,
and dirty dinner dishes.
Show us the beauty of a floor
Swept as unto the Lord.

Grant us the solace of solitude,
Grant us the comfort of community.
Teach us the art of hospitality,
And how to be received.

God of form and function,
God of shape and line,

Hear our prayer.

By Rod Lewis

swishism entry contemplation, creativity, God, silence