Imagination is pure mind.
Mind is intellect, cognizance
and sensitivity.

Some people see fallen autumn leaves
as a nuisance. She sees…

‘a swarming herd of leaf-creatures,
scrambling to advance on twig-thin legs,
communicating with curling colors
as they send up dusty twitters of conquest.’

(“We’re free! Arise, my friends,
onward to smothering victory,
colors united in fealty,
we are leafanity, arise!”)

Some people view peeling potatoes
as ordinary. She sees…

‘the first slice of the peeler awakening
a will to live, causing all the eyes
to open, fluttering with agitation,
and screaming silently as they are
sliced from being.’

(I was amazed to see eye-whites flash
into being, with deep pupils, empty, yet,
intent…menacing. I had to peel faster!
The eye-empties were twisting,
under my hand! Faster! There.
Last spud shorn for mashed potatoes.)

Some people view watering garden plants
as tedious. She sees….

‘liquid starlight cascading into fresh worlds.
Small and hidden, with deep dark passages
and flowery banquets powdered
with butterfly dust, inviting infusion.’

(The tiny fairyflits
darted and played
in starlight’s rivers
as they rushed home
for twilight’s supper.)

Some people view the mundane world
as solid. She sees…

‘how a head of broccoflower mimics
the infinite spiral of Life. How sometimes
a green bell pepper, sliced, harbors
a conjoined red pepper inside. How eyes
can fool the mind, and the mind
can fool the eyes.’

(She makes sure she places the dishes
in the right order in the rack
as she washes them. The pattern is clear
to her mind. Watering the yard is the same,
start, back and front, at one point,
end at another. Chop, slice, dice, veggies
also, have an order to be added to the soup.
It helps keep her grounded to this world,
else, she might fall into the stars,
and not come back.)

Imagination is power.
Its lure, unmistakable.
Its depth, insanity.

Erin Moen
9/15/03

This poem and related concepts are copyright © Erin Moen 2003, and may not be reproduced in part or in whole without the author's express permission.