Here by Glimpses Known - Barbed

[wayfaringwordhack]

I used to think I had a mind like a steel trap.  Now I wonder if it is not more like a barbed wire fence: Loosely strung, rusted, full of spaces to let thoughts pass, but still capable of snagging and holding on to things and causing harm.

...

On my country walks, I like to indulge in woolgathering, but not like these fences, snatching wool from passersby, hoarding and disguising their barbs under pearls of fleece.

Or do I?  

Maybe I catch inspiration like that speared leaf, snagging it out of my surroundings, only to let it dry and crumple while I find the time and inclination to make something of it, until one day, the leaf is a dessicated skeleton, the inspiration no more than a faint memory.

If Don McLean's moss growing fat on a rolling stone was a negative thing, I wonder how lichen growing thick on a rusted line compares.  Maybe, if want to work my creative process into this comparison, it would be best to side with the Ancient school of thought who viewed the accumulation of moss as a good thing. Like seeded oysters, those clusters of lichen might be steadily absorbing rain rich with elements and dust just gritty enough to grow a story that will spark my enthusiasm. I'd like to hope so...

This post seems to have a melancholy bent. Strange, for I feel not melancholic at all...

Comments

[patchwork-prose.livejournal.com]

I really like the collage.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

((LOVE))

I have a Flickr set called "thorns and tendrils," and i put barbed wire photos in that :-)

I love these to pieces. Each one is magnificent, and the collection of them is magnificent.

[frigg.livejournal.com]

Melancholy or lack of sleep? ;)

Lovely photos, and for what it's worth, I still think your mind is like a steel trap, one I wander into on a regular basis. :p

[pjthompson]

Beautiful collage!

And sea changes, babilu, always bring a change in the way we view the world, which always brings a change in the way we approach our creativity. I think we all have to reinvent ourselves as creative persons now and then, especially after a major life event. It would be unnatural not to, frankly. So I think your lichen is gathering in order to bring forth a new manifestation of yourself. It's a good thing. :-)