A Thousand Words

The Moon's watch is extensive;
Unlike the West's enlightenment.
 
 

It was suggested by my peers that I write something poetic which ties the Birdman and Narcissus together. I also needed to create piece that says something about each individual Novena in the entire Novena Project. As stated earlier, the Novena sites were determined by placing the pattern called the Mayan Factor against a world atlas (see map attached). The Novena sites will occur where the squares are placed on the map. This creates 156 potential sites. I then made a list of the possible Novena sites by locating a city or country within each square. Sometime later, I went through the book called the T'ai Hsuan Ching1 (a Chinese oracle like the I Ching in which verses may be randomly accessed and rematched) and found "Shou" that corresponded to almost every site. There were 81 Shou. 10 Shou were matched with 10 sites out of the first eight groups of 13 sites. The last Shou is matched with the last four groups of 13 sites which makes a whole Mayan Factor.

I wrote this poem by looking at the site and reading its corresponding Shou and then creating a nine-syllabled verse that contains the essence of the Shou while also relating it to its respective site and its place in the story line that was being developed. The poem seemed to write itself and retained the cycling pattern of the T'ai Hsuan Ching. Also, I wrote this after reading the first volume of The Masks of God by Joseph Campbell. Almost too many universal images are conjured up here. Each verse now provides a seed for every Novena. I have some idea as to what should be done at every site. I followed the writing of this poem by writing a narrative fantasy envisioning the performance of every Novena.

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A Thousand Words
by Bob Price
Bahana; Quetzalcoatl, come! Dallas
Birdman, born of Lizard - Mockingbird Oklahoma
Latent sprouting, birds of all feathers'Santa Fe
Droppings, blue and white, like stars below,Oshkosh, NE
Surrounding the mind and returning. S. Dakota
Slowly, life's difficulties begin. Yaqui, Mexico
Barriers to Peace. Torrents of doubt. Peace Park
Poverty! False rumors of relief! Queznal
Every kind of species is fighting. Ketchikan
Yet, the Life Tree sprouts. The heart grinds on. Oaxaca
A thousand words enter Birdman's bones. Alaska
Makes him strong inside yet weak outside. Is. de Revillagedo
Perhaps honesty points out the sage. Banff
Brothers and sisters die for the rich Colombia
Who suckle ancestors' blood that burns Ecuador
Exchanging life's air for poisonous gas. Colombia
Birdman's feet are bound. His steps stagger.Venezuela
The Eastern Light is not yet enough. Honduras
Crowds of people glisten together. Panama
Ten Thousand droplets: A good omen. Trinidad
Inner dawns, yet they lack direction. Peru
"I have spiritual food together with your food."Peru
Birdman sees trouble; draws in his coils.Bolivia
There is waiting. Heaven unites us. Paraguay
Things stand on tiptoe in the empire. S. Georgia
Birdman's forces stretch out, advancing, Buenos Aires
Brightening the Eastern Light and light Guatemala
The world with Fire Clan's tablet's fragment,Clipperton Is.
Thus igniting the pillar of the world. Hawaii
Gentle heat opens out all nature. Galapagos
Multitudes seize the inner vigor. I. San Felix

Birdman is sick. The world is half changed. I. San Ambrosio
He sighs over the means of living. Is. Juan Fernandez
"Do not cut off the principle path!" I. Sala y Gomez
Birdman is renewed in fresh attire. Easter Island
Begets anew with Lizard woman. Pitcarin Is.
The Mockingbird, Dog, Lion, Lizard. Tahiti
Hearts are full with resplendent beauty.Christmas Atoll
Birdman's speech carves. Words are fortitude.Honolulu
Retracing the steps of ancestors Jamestown
Causes Birdman to move farther east. Puerto Rico
New mysteries must be encountered. Haiti
The winged creatures on the South Wind Everglades
Proclaim that the multitude are more. Cuba
They are refined beauties like orchids.Bahamas
People taking journeys compare them, N. Orleans
Yet they quibble over the Great Light. Greenland
In Heaven there are no boundaries. Halifax

Ears! Listen to the Abyss below! Atlanta, GA
Surpassing abundance bottled up. Rekjavik
Stability; the Earth lifts her pots. New Foundland
A meshed net is dredging the abyss. New York
The Great Dragon flies up to Heaven. Wales
One hundred clans are in harmony. Scotland
Birdman rushes to meet with the child. Iceland
Birdman's body is food for the stove. Ghana
The birds cry out in the emptiness, Nigeria
"Consider whether life is error!" Chad
The sacrifice will be auspicious. Sudan
Those employed by the Supreme One rise. Sudan
They are roped up. Later, they can fly Egypt
While flying fingers play Heaven's songs.Jerusalem
Ancient kingdoms regain their glory. Troy (Turkey)
Spirits of the Dead join us in Love. Romania
All souls now share the spiritual food. Paris
Birdman is crowned by a black spirit.Sao Tome
In the sky there is a new omen. Gabon
Eternity is the path of birds. Zambia
Posterity is in the blackness. Congo
The appearance of deep water runs, Tanzania
Washing away the soul's fattiness. Malawi
Birdman is protected by the stove. Rhodesia
He unites darkness with the Center. Lesotho
There is a new parliament of life. S. Africa

Great fullness is allotted to man. Gough Is.
Monuments of spirit have been built Tristan da Guna
Covering over one-half the world. S. Sandwich Is.
Quatzalcoatl's pattern made new. S. Africa
Words are not words nor the use of words. Kenya
They doubt the magnitude of the Sun. Kenya
The Birdman's soul is still unexplored. Mozambique
He sinks into his own reflection Mozambique
Finding hard traveling in new worlds. Antarctica
Birdman departs from our world alone; Madagascar
The surpassing Moon's brightness eclipsed.lles de Crozet
With eyesight dimmed the divisions get bright:lles de Kugieles
A broken jade ring; smashed jade tablet. Head Is.
The path does not seem to be enough. Somalia
Moving through the webs between the forms,Amirante Is.
Birdman flies seeking his own image Maldives
Which beckons him forward much faster. Sri Lanka
He stops by bare trees for Poverty. Dubai
Violent shimmering distorts him. Madras
He draws in his coils. His image flies. Ethiopia
Because of his will, one is two. Oman
Months pass away while the corpse decays.Ryad
The Sea; water inundating flows. Euphrates
Birdman takes to flying with his wings,Iran
Striking stones, breaking open the bands.Turkistan
Birdman is afraid to enter Heaven. Tashkent

A white breast gives life to Birdman's flesh.Kazakstan
Now feasting, Birdman is dependent. Novosibirsk
Mockingbird sings and protects Birdman. Siberia
Dog feeds and raises Birdman higher. Bombay
Lizardwoman makes love to Birdman Siberia
While Lion plays to maintain the world. Russia
The stars, like the years, begin anew. Ulaam Batar
All will go back to their beginnings. China
The Sun will rise as sure as it sets. Korea
Will a new Birdman arise from the East? Japan
Now, all the universe is frozen. Okinawa
Devoted hands lift the crimson disc. Daito Jima
Birdman skips along ocean's pillars Palau
Playing with lost kin of ancient days, Mandanko
Honoring even mortal bodies. Taiwan
Birdman converses with other birds Lamon Bay
To learn of their stories of the Abyss. Brunei
All souls now sing a similar song; New Guinea
Families, tribes, nations, and world. St. Paul
Souls who know the Abyss' horror Australia
Unite in the dream-time that's always. Australia
Birdman's image, lost in the Abyss, Australia
Is found in the faces of his loves. Australia
Birdman/Chameleon is changing. Australia
As husband and wife exchange their souls,Indonesia
Now all souls pass through bodies' limits S. Magnetic Pole
And may become one mind if they wish. Indonesia
Birdman is one of the flock today Indonesia
While a new Birdman begins again. Indonesia

Pahana; Quetzalcoatl, come! Borneo
Slowly life's difficulties begin. Papua New Guinea
Yet the Life Tree sprouts. The heart grinds on. Papua New Guinea
Perhaps honesty points out the sage. Carolina Is.
Birdman sees trouble; draws in his coils.New Britain
There is waiting. Heaven unites us. New Ireland
Gentle heat opens out all nature. Gilbert Is.
Multitudes seize the inner vigor. New Caladonia
Birdman is renewed in fresh attire. Phoenix Is.
Birdman's speech carves. Words are fortitude. New Zealand
New mysteries must be encountered. Fiji
People taking journeys compare them Australia
Yet they quibble over the Great Light. Australia
Birdman rushes to meet with the child. Australia
Birdman's body is food for the stove. Sofu-Gan
All souls now share the spiritual food. Shapparo
He sinks into his own reflection. Kuril Is.
Birdman departs from our world alone. Karajnski
Months pass away while the corpse decays. Alaska
He draws in his coils. His image flies. Mariana Is.
Birdman is afraid to enter Heaven. Guam
A white breast gives life to Birdman's flesh. Mariana Is.
Now feasting, Birdman is dependent. Mariana Is.
The stars, like the years begin anew. Kamchatka
All will go back to their beginnings. Marshall Is.
The Sun will rise as sure as it sets. Carolina Is.
Will a new Birdman rise from the East? Tokyo

Nine sounds for nine days:
My brain hurts from this and other ways
I find meaning in these thousand words.

Signed: Man of Birds.

All of the work that you are reading now is structured by the cyclic pattern of the Tai Hsuan Ching in even greater detail than the preceding poem. Each Shou consists of about nine individual verses called Tsan. In Derek Walters's version of the Tai Hsuan Ching, the Tsan are arranged so that each date corresponds to the morning or afternoon of every day of the year. This, along with the obscurity of each verse's meaning, has made the Tsan very suitable as prompts for journaling. I have used this processing for writing in my journals consistently for at least four years. Using the Tsan of the T'ai Hsuan Ching in the present work gives me an exciting way to assimilate my past written ideas into the present. I freely interpret each Tsan as if the T'ai Hsuan Ching were suggesting the next idea that should be discussed in my writing. For example: The following Tsan reinforces my Mockingbird tendencies for balance against the Lizard and Lion's tendencies toward escapism.

 40 The T'ai Hsuan Ching; reconstructed and translated by Derek Walters; The Aquarian Press; 1984.

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