LuminousEvening
1
8/7/2019 LuminousEvening http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/luminousevening 1/1 LUMINOUS EVENING You are standing on the edge of a warm wide beach, looking out to sea. A huge red sun is sinking slowly down beyond the horizon and a soft wind is blowing. All you can hear is the sea washing up and down, and the gentle clatter of palms. You walk along, your bare feet in the water. You feel the tiny waves against your ankles as the ocean laps lazily around your feet. And you can imagine it stretching away from you, all the innumerable fish and forests of wafting kelp, and far out winging the air, albatross, then smaller birds, herring gull, cormorant, then the tiny dunlin flocking on some other shore where the sun is rising, first light of a golden dawn. Your long shadow falls onto the sand, and you breathe deeply in and out. It is good. The sky has reddened and you notice that the sand and the water are glowing red too and slowly, almost imperceptibly, as you walk red deepens into dusk, and your shadow becomes fainter until you realise it is already almost dark, and overhead a midnight blue. You continue walking along the shore in the warm night air. You are content simply to be. There is no moon, and although it is dark you notice that where the surf runs in and breaks over itself are little ripples of light. So it seems that a silver tendril path of luminescence leads away from you, and with every footfall rings of light spread from your feet and sparks of green gold trail away. You bend down and dip your fingers in the water, sending sparks dancing every which way, and you find yourself smiling. You hear the breeze in the palms and you look up to see tiny lights there too, fireflies signalling one another. You decide to walk up the beach towards their gorgeous twinkle. As you approach, the sound of the sea grows fainter until it is barely the whisper of something vast, but another sound grows and you seem to hear a beautiful song drifting out to you from the jungle dark. You decide to go and find where the song is coming from. You plunge in under the firefly spangled palms into the profound jungle beyond. You find yourself on a winding path leading in and in, you feel warm soft earth against the souls of your feet. You smell greenness, like newly cut grass only richer and fresher, and sweet blossom scents of honeysuckle and lily, only more intense, more longing as your senses keen towards them, and you go on. As you go deeper in the singing becomes clearer but there are no words, only melodies that fill you with a sense of gladness, soft chiming of wonder. You come, now, to the end of the path. Before you is an archway through which you stop and gaze for a long time into the clearing beyond. Chinese paper lanterns hang from the trees, glowing red and orange, and great pendulous pale blossoms stand in scent laden clumps. Somebody is walking towards you barefoot across the ground. You are not afraid, you feel welcome here. A hand is held out for you and you take it. The figure leads you in past flowers you had only glimpsed in dreams and stories, into the centre of that place, they seem to smile and for a time you stand together. This is where you are supposed to be, this is right. You realise after a while that the figure is gone, but you do not feel alone. You feel warm and welcome and at home. You lie down on your back on the night time earth, smelling the immense splendour of jungle flowers, the lilting joyful strange song drifting over you, big as a forgetful ocean, then you look up into the infinitude of stars.
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Transcript of LuminousEvening
8/7/2019 LuminousEvening
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/luminousevening 1/1
LUMINOUS EVENING
You are standing on the edge of a warm wide beach, looking out to sea. A hugered sun is sinking slowly down beyond the horizon and a soft wind is blowing. Allyou can hear is the sea washing up and down, and the gentle clatter of palms. You walk along, your bare feet in the water. You feel the tiny waves against yourankles as the ocean laps lazily around your feet. And you can imagine it stretchingaway from you, all the innumerable fish and forests of wafting kelp, and far outwinging the air, albatross, then smaller birds, herring gull, cormorant, then thetiny dunlin flocking on some other shore where the sun is rising, first light of agolden dawn. Your long shadow falls onto the sand, and you breathe deeply inand out. It is good. The sky has reddened and you notice that the sand and thewater are glowing red too and slowly, almost imperceptibly, as you walk reddeepens into dusk, and your shadow becomes fainter until you realise it is alreadyalmost dark, and overhead a midnight blue. You continue walking along the shore
in the warm night air. You are content simply to be. There is no moon, andalthough it is dark you notice that where the surf runs in and breaks over itself arelittle ripples of light. So it seems that a silver tendril path of luminescence leadsaway from you, and with every footfall rings of light spread from your feet andsparks of green gold trail away. You bend down and dip your fingers in the water,sending sparks dancing every which way, and you find yourself smiling. You hearthe breeze in the palms and you look up to see tiny lights there too, firefliessignalling one another. You decide to walk up the beach towards their gorgeoustwinkle. As you approach, the sound of the sea grows fainter until it is barely thewhisper of something vast, but another sound grows and you seem to hear abeautiful song drifting out to you from the jungle dark. You decide to go and findwhere the song is coming from. You plunge in under the firefly spangled palmsinto the profound jungle beyond. You find yourself on a winding path leading inand in, you feel warm soft earth against the souls of your feet. You smellgreenness, like newly cut grass only richer and fresher, and sweet blossom scentsof honeysuckle and lily, only more intense, more longing as your senses keentowards them, and you go on. As you go deeper in the singing becomes clearerbut there are no words, only melodies that fill you with a sense of gladness, softchiming of wonder. You come, now, to the end of the path. Before you is anarchway through which you stop and gaze for a long time into the clearingbeyond. Chinese paper lanterns hang from the trees, glowing red and orange, andgreat pendulous pale blossoms stand in scent laden clumps. Somebody is walkingtowards you barefoot across the ground. You are not afraid, you feel welcomehere. A hand is held out for you and you take it. The figure leads you in pastflowers you had only glimpsed in dreams and stories, into the centre of that place,
they seem to smile and for a time you stand together. This is where you aresupposed to be, this is right. You realise after a while that the figure is gone, butyou do not feel alone. You feel warm and welcome and at home. You lie down onyour back on the night time earth, smelling the immense splendour of jungleflowers, the lilting joyful strange song drifting over you, big as a forgetful ocean,then you look up into the infinitude of stars.
