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27 January 2020 – The One – #10: City Secundum – Segment 2

Once again, our hero is escaping from a less than ideal situation – this time with a canine companion. Clarity arises that places Skitch and his small crew in the clear light of who they are; however, it has taken Hertwig in contrast for the MC to gain this insight. Immediately after the escape, a canine-related dilemma arises, but between the MC’s ingenuity and Argose’s courage, the small event has a happy ending.

Be ready for the nature of travel, the surprise and the boredom of continuing, ever continuing.



Leashless, Argose, and I hurry away
            down streets to harbor to pier and to boat
No one follows – the Dragon prize not worth
            enough for these three to break a sweat 
I feel young and fleet and on adventure
But now standing on the pier looking down
            I see a dilemma I hadn’t thought of
I can scuttle down the vertical ladder 
            but Argose has the wrong appendages
                        for handling even a few downward steps
I look around for help, but none comes forth
Hart’s line bobs against the thick, wood piling
            but I could never lower Argose down 
                        without fear of hanging him, not helping
Only one way fits the situation
A few dead fish float white-eyed down below
I scurry down and haul one out – back up
            to show the same to Argose’s bouncing nose
I smear his snout and let him lick my hand
Descending again, I waft the smell up
Argose’s focus bores a stuck lighthouse beam
Boarding Hart and waving fish, I look up
            calling my dog with a pack leader’s howl
Argose paces the pier edge whimpering
I howl again, throw the fish, clap my hands
Suddenly Argose launches into air, 
front legs tucked, back paws pointed, tail out straight
It appears to me he hangs suspended
            mid sky and water, hovering like a gull
I stand, mouth agape, frightened by what I’ve asked
He seems to hang forever in mid-air
            perhaps he is taking flight – a moment
                        passes and he hits the water splashing
                                    spume like a gigantic whale surfacing
He goes down for many moments – longer
            than his maiden flight above – I fear
                        Argose has gone to bottom – I panic
                                    leaning over the gunwale, I peer into
                                                the muddy river water hiding him
He breaks the surface spluttering, coughing
            four mad paws thrashing to stay afloat
I thought dogs could swim, but he proves me wrong
In that instant, I jump in, make three strokes
            and I’m with him, my arms under tummy
                        going down as I struggle to secure him
He’s frantic, and the fish is all-forgotten
The boat floats a few yards away, waiting
            patiently for her passengers to board
I swim round behind Argose, push his rump
            and kick my feet to motor to safety
I tip to port and lift Argose’s front legs
            inside while I go under and somehow
                        using my head, get his rear in as well
I almost founder the boat as I claw up and over
            we both lie heaving in the boat’s bottom 
                        and we are aboard

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We drift most contented for several weeks
            often under sail, sometimes pulling oars
Argose shifts from port to starboard each time
            a slight ripple passes beneath our hull
But soon we both gain our sea legs on this
            gentle rocking river grown wide and rich
Many hours we pass – makeshift pole and line
            dragging with its own tiny wake beside
                        a most modest, fading red boat gliding
                        me plucking out the fish silver-sided
                        Argose politely waiting for his share 
                                    when evening comes and fish combine with stores

Only after dark do we approach land
            to tie up and sleep near deserted shores
Far out in the stream, I pass river towns
I raise a hand to passing vessels, nod
            and smile ‘all’s well,’ but do not speak to them
This boat and my own company enough.
Fish submit themselves to my trailing lines
            and supplement the supplies still lasting

The days rise wet and sultry, and snakes
            claim the shoreline now too often for my taste
                        I must find my sleep at anchor floating
                                    distant from the silent fangs in the dark
With no map I cannot name where I am
I prefer it so, heading only South
This one-pointed river-road needs no chart
            nor do I so long as I’m south of North
            putting distance between that town and me
This wrinkled river could flow straight to hell
            and I would enter and not look back once

I may have already crossed that border
            and be far inside some black dragon’s lair
Truthfully, I am getting rather bored
            and a hot dance with a flame-spitting beast
            might brighten up the routine of these days

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In such a mood I approach another
            river city, larger than the laststraddling
            colossal, bristling on both riverbanks
Its great harbor must connect to the sea
            judging by the size and draft of the ships
                        crowding the docks and tied out at moorings

My boat is dwarfed by these massive sea-beasts
            tugging at their thick chains and lines, eager
            to be sailing in their native waters
            captured here for passing, impatient hours
            until they ignite their sailing engines
                        and break quick foam from bows and quaking ribs

But now a new thought strikes me as I glide
            like some mouse creeping below a lion’s gaze
                        slipping beneath these anchored fortresses,
Something larger than themselves has lured them here.
Their seasoned captains are ashore when they
            might be sailing full-strong before the wind
            crossing harborless immensities
Of course! These ships must give up their cargo
            and take on paying loads for the passage
But the City must hold secrets deeper
            than its harbor to gather so many 
            brilliant arks under one common banner

Suddenly I know I must puzzle out
            the answer to this matter, so I will
            go ashore here to gather evidence
My whole body tingles at my resolve
            my steady prow pointed toward this City
            its power a magnet for my iron needle
                        the sea now a delayed destination
                        that will be there when I am finished here
                                     with more revealed through explorations

I take money from the stern storage box
Before I can hop into the water
            Argose leaps and lands on the sand shoreline
I leap after him into the shallows
A second time in this second city
            I tie Hart secure to an encrusted rock 
                        but this time very near the shore, so to
                                    wade in and prevent hoisting Argose up
                                     which would certainly end badly for both of us    


Background
I’ve probably said it before, but my love for dogs is not secret. Argose, in this epic, has and will play a larger role than most canine characters, barring Lassie and Rin Tin Tin. Still, it has been a challenge to development dog character with no speech (or not much) and a mind that operates solely in the present moment. (On the later, we could do worse for ourselves.)

This segment is obviously part of a transition, the continuation of the odyssey. The travel seems to bring the MC both boredom and satisfaction. Perhaps this is the nature of all travel. The thrill of being part of unfamiliar people and places. Yet, perhaps, the desire to relax, to not be on guard, to take pleasure in the familiar.

Exploration 1: What do you make or Argose’s place in this narrative? What part do you expect he will play as time goes on?

Exploration 2: After the escape, the MC thinks at one point that the, “. . . river could flow straight to hell and I would enter and not look back once.” What fires this kind of bitterness and deep desire not to return to the native town?

Exploration 3: What do you suppose the “deeper secrets” the new city might hold for the MC?








Comments

  1. 1. Argose is certainly a more optimistic companion than Hart was. He and MC seem to communicate telepathically.

    2. I never understood why MC hates the old hometown so much. Maybe he/she knew that he/she could never discover his/her true nature there. Was there some abuse or just neglect to cause such rancor?

    3. A wise MC would just cruise right through the city. There's always trouble in river cities, but that's what makes the adventure. If Argose can't save MC, there's always the Dragon to be played as a get out of jail card.

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