2 December 2003 | Vol. 3, No. 4

Intersection

The secret lies in elevation; in the erection of it, its meaning, what it relates to. The concept of the finite gave way to loss. Dream gave way to prophecy. Clearing the plains of primordial forest invited perspective. The finite, elevation, loss, perspective. These are the fundamental ingredients that define homage. Stone is the vehicle for homage, because stone represents elevation and irredeemable time; it is a man-made contrivance in the spirit of permanency, an acknowledgement of absence.

The analytical axe split the proposition in two: material—shamanic. Exactly what is lost cannot be known because absence simultaneously suggests replacement. A tree is replaced by a standing stone. A bush thicket becomes a hut, the moment of destruction is the moment of discovery, orgasm is death, violence and sex, etc. Loss, however, is immeasurable because it is boundless. Loss accretes over time into mythology.

The metaphysician slowed, paused at the lights. In the car opposite (to his left) a blonde with a Nordic profile gripped the steering wheel like a seafarer gripping the tiller in an Atlantic sea squall. Her eyes, unambiguous as a theodolite, calibrated the coordinates from point, to the shopping-strip four intersections distant. Her knuckles that whitened on the steering wheel indicated a life of vigorous, dominant sex. Her tensed form, crouched over the dashboard reminded him of the trebuchet, sprung, at the moment of release. He was at least five hundred years and one continent out in his appreciation of this woman.

About the author:

Stephen Oliver has two new poetry works: Deadly Pollen published by Word Riot Press; and Ballads, Satire & Salt - A Book of Diversions, [illustrated by Matt Ottley] by Greywacke Press [distributed in Australia by Dennis Jones & Ass and in New Zealand by Addenda]. He has recently completed a final, mixed down recording of his poems [as read by author] to original music by Matt Ottley, titled: KING HIT - Selected Readings; this finished production is currently in search of a recording label. Feel free to contact the author to order published titles, or to assist as regards a trustworthy recording label: . For further information check out Stephen's homepage: http://people.smartchat.net.au/~sao.

For further reading:

See the complete list of work by Stephen Oliver at 42opus. Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 3, No. 4, where "Intersection" ran on December 2, 2003. List other work with these same labels: poetry, prose poem.

42opus is an online magazine of the literary arts.

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