Reflections:
A World After Dark
An Essay on the Existence of God
Searching
How the elements were made?
that’s a good question- i can’t
truly say that i know anything for certain
but i’ve heard it went something like this
An indecipherable amount of years ago
and at the same time
never
everything
which was, at the time
nothing
exploded into
something.
Suddenly there came streams of hot gas
and these somethings began expanding infinitely
into the void of
time and
space.
Eventually, they cooled off
and fell into themselves when
the waves of
gravity
came crashing down.
Things condensed into smaller groups of
space
that the human mind would be able to comprehend,
not that we’d exist for another hiccup of
time.
Now, we’re alive
having somehow evolved from
things that were not alive
and we still can’t figure out what we're made of-
besides stardust.
We live in infinity
even if that's impossible,
and everything we can sense and know
makes up
0.001%
of this place.
I like to think
that this impossible equation
led us to invent a most important element
Spirit.
A Sustained Investigation covering 70% of our planet
and half of our lives:
Can humanity thrive in the void of life-giving substances like air and sunlight by taking advantage of the overlooked necessities of water and nighttime,
and what can this teach us about humanity's relationship to the Earth?
Night on Earth
Drowning
What takes place under the cover of darkness?
Is there beauty?
Does the moonlight caress the wet grass just enough to mimic the glistening stars?
Is there horror?
Do the witches and the devils come out to dance around the fire of the sabbath?
What creatures does the night arouse after dark?
Surely the black cats, like we thought, but who else?
Are there dragons, or vampires, or werewolves?
No?
But why create so many beasts, if there are none to be found?
Is it because we long for the nighttime ourselves?
Must we convince ourselves away from the darkness?
What contrasting characters come out underneath the moon and stars?
And am I one of them?
Does the water pour colder through me under the silver bliss of night?
Is it holy water?
Is it this silver bliss that attracts the creatures inspiring of our fear?
And what atrocities or acts of goodwill do they commit that go unwitnessed by sleeping eyes?
What makes the breeze howl so much lower during the ungodly hours of darkness?
And when the owl spreads its wings to this wind, what do its deep green eyes take in?
Are they prisms, refracting beams of starlight, or just infinite radars?
And what law is there that our eyes have no place here?
Why are they always ‘Closed After Sunset?’
How could I turn off when there’s an open road to be driven, or an open lake to be rippled apart?
I’ve seen a wealth of mornings, and are they not overrated?
Why do we pray for our eyes to be stabbed with a flash of light upon each waking day?
Why can't we just bask in the purple lights of the midnight falls?
Are you willing to join me tonight, holding these shambles of darkness?
Will you board this maiden voyage into the black void?
Because the dark hours may not be the best hours, but they’re ours.
Raindrops
Tiny Gunshots, they call me
or Cloud’s Wane
or Silvery Teardrops
when I roll down the occasional window pane
Most of them run and hide
from my possibility
less the chosen few
who come out to enjoy me silently
Let me describe to you
what it's really like
though you’ll never understand
a raindrop at night
The Fall is to die for
two minutes of fame
until we meet with the ground
and rekindle the pain
Then it’s back to rivers
the oceans and seas
perhaps if we’re lucky
I’ll see you again next week
Trickling Down my Windsheild
Ice Dance
This piece, along with the following artist statement, was featured in the 2022 County Art Show at Goucher College, MD:
"Ice Dance" is a long-exposure self portrait, taken as part of a larger sustained investigation searching for meaning in the overlooked elements of water and nighttime. The photo was taken via the use of a self-timer, which anxiously beeped down for two minutes while I jumped into a frozen lake, carrying a fluorescent camping lantern encased in Ziploc bags. Keeping still in the water for long enough to give the exposure enough light in the middle of the night made "Ice Dance" one of the most challenging photos I've ever taken, but it taught me a lot about our place in the natural world. Too often we just take all that we want, without ever stopping to see or listen to everything that the environment around us has to share. Be bold in your connection to this world, and you may find yourself inspired to protect it (even if it leaves you with mild hypothermia).
Lorry
Ophelia
Frozen
Tinder
Lost
Float On
Standoff
Death
Bath
