1.
Vasilisa stands on a very worn wood floor, calmly sweeping up little heads into a pile. They are mostly about the size of apples, and rustle against each other like paper or leaves. They start to cry and she tries to leave them but they are invisibly tied to her ankles, and so they follow her. They cry louder and she tries to kick them away then she starts to kick them violently. There is a terrible moment and Vassilisa wakes up in her bed.
At the moment the light comes up on her there we should immediately be focused on her hands clutching her quilt, clenched tightly over it. A real voice calls for her and though decidedly different, there is something of the crying heads in it. She stands, taking a piece of the quilt (which seemed to be attached to the whole when it lay against it) and wraps it around her shoulders like shawl. Vasilisa goes to her mother.
2.
The good news is
In your dream there was no air crack and so it implodes blown out by a thin reed
Lurches you back into that air you know you will find it between the sheets
in the rag rug rag
in the bread.
In the breath it will take to answer your mother’s call you will find it there too.
The smoke and dust are rotting in the air. Unlatching the door will not clear it out the two fronts will meet
and they will rage.
You’ve never tried but you’re sure. They taught you this in science class.
Better not to stir it up at all.
drawing attention to details is something I really like
ReplyDeletelittle things, groups of things, stuff that looks like one thing and then turns into something else
transformation is a huge TYA writing tool
I am digging the creepiness of the dream and the comfort of the quilt butting against each other, and I think the idea of a quilt or security blanket is bam money on our talking about childhood/adulthood and dismantling those distinctions in the space.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking a lot about smell in the more poem-y one of these. Like, in a Russian winter, you wouldn't ever open the door unless you really really had to. So what a tiny cottage smell like?
ReplyDeleteSome things I came up with: Damp clothes, woodsmoke, tobacco, soup, old soup, sweat, dirty socks, earth.
What do you guys think about looking into making the studio smell? It wouldn't have to be unpleasant and we wouldn't need to use any kind of fancy haser situation which would, among other things, upset Peter. What I had in mind was burlap (already a strong, close smell) maybe damp, maybe with coffee in it, or smoke, etc. Even if we don't do this, I really like the idea of making the studio feel close, and I think keeping smells in mind will be helpful to all the design areas and to the action. Thoughts?
Yay smells! Way into that. and the burlap sounds great. and hemp maybe which can smell like cows.
ReplyDeletewe should use real dirt and maybe she's tried a garden and isnt doing really well.
hmm grass patches? weeeeee