The Diamond Life

The 4 of Diamonds felt compelled to contribute, though he owes nothing to no one. He opened the cupboard of his experience and out fell some music. A ball struck him a glancing upon the brow and bounced away down the hall. Fell out, a basket of ribbons unfurling, two empty hip flasks needing refill, seven glass marbles containing curls of colour in a cloth bag with a draw string of leather cut. Fell out a family of small creatures dressed and waiting, a small canoe of bark and sticks made and painted completely, also many with no name visible.

Each and every, simple in itself, but pulling upon the thread of rich story attached by staples to the pastimes history of the Diamond’s passing through.

The ball, played with his father, the King of Diamonds, during jolly youthful days. The basket of ribbons, tied upon the window by his mother, the Queen of Diamonds. The empty hip flasks, in hidden use by his older brother, you guessed, the Jack of Diamond. And so the stories flowed out, pressing the buttons of his memorials, until he became ensadened by its passing.

The Diamond stepped back as the landslide of memorabilia continued. Fell out a saucepan with no lid and an hunting horn of some age. The diamond opened his arms in a vain attempt to capture all the parts of its experience before thy might escape. But before you could enunciate a longer word or indeed a well-known phrase or saying, all his histories lay revealed upon the floor. He found, knee deep, swinging around to make escape, which one to pick.

When the movement of his knees started a cascade of ancient moments, he became caught in an hisory, although he couldn’t see. He slid back to an earlier world of rain and cold.

Damn, said the diamond, I shall have to us the cordless vacuum accessory that doesn’t work very well. Other ways these reveries will eat me up. Then go and get the dustpan and brush to reorder these personals in some holes more suited to pigeons.

I shall fetch some black rubbish sack from the kitchen and tidy all this up.

After some time, when four fat black sacks stood a row and the cupboard was bare, the Diamond remained. It is, mused the Four, quite humbling to see ones very, contained no less in these four bags alone. And yet my life has been rich beyond. It is interesting that the wonder that accompanies breathing and the beating of my heart, is not complete described by the very objects and histories that they denote. Mention of activities and relations does not be adequate, I shall also paint a dynamic and perceptive artwork to fill out the description of my experience. Some eye dazzling concoction that represents the search out of perception that we all should be engaged. So, he did.

I cannot present my own whole entire past as an example of this many textured life, so I will winnow some choice examples.

The Diamonds life choices:

Six glass marbles in a cloth bag to show childhood joy, a faded leather jacket to denote transition to self-consciousness, a pack of playing cards to signal family, and a symphony to mark transcendence.

That should do it, said the Four to himself, surely then the Blue Knight will recognize this rich tapestry and cannot fail to weave a wall hanging of his own endeavour and experience.

He put his evidence of life and painting into the Blue Knights box which was, now, not empty, but brimming.