The Great Dalliance

 

Owen Risk

A strange man came to me in a dream last night.  He said his name was Owen Risk.  I asked him what he wanted.  He said he wondered if I could possibly take some dictation; transcribe a story that needed telling.  It was 4 a.m. and I didn't much feel like taking dictation, but Owen was such a striking figure, asking what he asked of me with such a sense of urgency, that I could hardly say no.   I said, "Sure, why not?" and went downstairs with my pen and a notebook.  Owen followed me down and waited patiently till the coffee was done and I was sitting at the kitchen table with my notebook open.    "Okie dokie," I said, "shoot."  At this point, the cat jumped off his helmet and ran under the table.   "She's a bit gun-shy," said Owen.

From early on I was taught to behold the shifting and changing of character.  Nothing remained stable.  Even rot had its stages.  The Kingship, the Lords, the High Chancellors, drilled this into my head from the onset.  One must sit n the brink, wait on the edge, and loiter in between the minutes keeping the eyes peeled if one wished to be worthy of one's sarcophagus.  Otherwise, it would be the heap; where all the unfit get thrown.  The mountains are made of such as these, I was told.  Therefore, I sought wholeheartedly, the Valley and the Splendor which would be my final reward. 

Vigilance was the way, they told me, and Silence the charm to spur me on.  I did not speak, was not expected to speak, was not prodded to speak.  It was my choice, the material world around me would not be altered by that choice.  The charm of Silence was mine to have and to hold, or to toss aside in total disregard.  I was enthralled by Silence, why or how I do not know, can not say.  I revered it, it was befitting of me.  It was not heavy or clumsy and the moment I accepted it I became one with it, knowing with an all-encompassing certainty that I could never turn it away.  The Silence took hold of me and invited me into its deepest chambers, led me to its holy core, deposited me on the glowing throne of Nothingness and left me there to reign until I could reign no more.

 My attendants, court appointed by the 69th High Chancellor of Ignominy, Rufus the Bully (before he was hung by the Melody Makers) , were ever watchful, ever solicitous, ever suspicious of my every move as I meandered about the compound, especially when I got too close for comfort, theirs and my own, but mostly theirs, and dared to deviate from the Circumference of Odium by putting one, just one mind you, black booted foot over the line into the Territory of Harmonia, straddling, as it were, homeland and hinterland.  It was always a thrill I couldn’t resist, a feeling like none other;  being almost there but not quite, a moment of  sheer anticipation, fear and hope, about to be split down the middle like a wishbone.  It made me giddy.  They dragged me home with promises of tapioca pudding.

by Carol Tate Cannon aka Leocadia aka Leo

 Rufus the Bully

69th High Chancellor

From Iolanthe

Gilbert & Sullivan

 Lord Chancellor:

The Law is the true embodiment

Of everything that's excellent.

It has no kind of fault or flaw,

And I, my Lords, embody the Law.

The constitutional guardian I

Of pretty young Wards in Chancery,

All very agreeable girls — and none

Are over the age of twenty-one.

A pleasant occupation for

A rather susceptible Chancellor!

Chorus:

A pleasant occupation for

A rather susceptible Chancellor!

Lord Chancellor:

But though the compliment implied

Inflates me with legitimate pride,

It nevertheless can't be denied

That it has its inconvenient side.

For I'm not so old, and not so plain,

And I'm quite prepared to marry again,

But there'd be the deuce to pay in the Lords

If I fell in love with one of my Wards!

Which rather tries my temper, for

I'm such a susceptible Chancellor!

Chorus:

Which rather tries his temper, for

He's such a susceptible Chancellor!

Lord Chancellor:

And every one who'd marry a Ward

Must come to me for my accord,

And in my court I sit all day,

Giving agreeable girls away,

With one for him — and one for he —

And one for you — and one for ye —

And one for thou — and one for thee —

But never, oh, never a one for me!

Which is exasperating for

A highly susceptible Chancellor!

Chorus:

Which is exasperating for

A highly susceptible Chancellor!

 

Jimmy Dancelotski

Leader of The Melody Makers

& 70th High Chancellor 

(to be continued)