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Book I

IMPERFECTION: A Prophecy

straight

as the crow flies

arrow

part 1

‘Salute Andronicus and Junias, my kinsmen, and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me.’

Romans 16: 7

did you see Him then upon the mount?

we saw Him

and did you see Him then in the hills of Galillee?

we saw Him

boat water sail

in a corricle over the sea in madness

in a corricle over the sea in grief

‘forgive us our tongues of dust our lips of stone forgive us’

under the sun on a blue sea in the salt wind

sail water boat.

skin wrinkle brown hand tiller eye robe

wind skin beard hand brown hair tiller hand

arm wrinkle wind sun eye robe brown skin

sky boat brown tiller robe wind wrinkle eye

forgive us for words said forgive us for words unsaid forgive us who loved You silently forgive us the day we failed You Lord forgive us the day we failed ourselves failing You Lord in a boat on the sea under the sun in the sky beyond us forgive us

so that this way we went & this

that way & back

this way & that

following Joseph

& did you find him

in time yes

& the voyage

yes

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i have not known Thee or loved Thee enough Lord who would seal his lips up against Thee would not make my stand in the marketplace hid back amongst the shadows as they lead Thee away tho You smiled at me let me know You understood the dreadful fear within me which has no place with Thee

i have not understood Thy suffering in the simplest terms Lord how You let them know Thy spirit & Thy name how You let them laugh & jeer at Thee firm within Thyself let them kill Thee & did not curse them

i have understood so little Lord in my cringing smallness my weaknesses I have indulged Lord did not understand how they weakened me until they lead You away Lord & i was silent did not strike out did not lead a multitude against them as i should have could have had i but faced the fear & littleness within me

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we have left Thee behind Lord, left ourselves in that leaving, far from truth from being true to Thee, fled, in our fear, over the sea, forever, i can never forgive me, we can never forgive us, the day we fled that last chance to serve Thee

we left us behind Lord, with Thy body, on a cross, saw them hammer the nails in, with the others, so many before You we had watched bleed to death, so many deaths we have spoke against in silence, as we did again, railed against them wtih downcast eyes & turned backs, railed against them & abandoned Thee

the waves

against the boat

the waves

against the boat

the waves

against the boat

the waves

against the boat

the waves

against the boat

the waves

against the boat

the waves

against the boat

the waves

so where did you go?

this way

& that

only ourselves

crazy in the vast blue of

the sky

the sea

sometimes in the night frightened by my own cowardice things i should’ve said or done dreams the man in black walking towards me the buildings falling i am powerless to stop him tho his face is mine his eyes are mine i am watching it all happen wordless

sometimes in the morning waking the boat is rocking he is watching me & i say nothing i say less & less think more & more my lips dry yes as much from stubborness as lack

of desire set sail in despair into the midst of

at night the dreams of daytime & my silence my inabilities my

gulls

gills · (& in the distance hills)

part 2

‘having heard the story of the giant Buamundus in the happiness of a feast, jestingly called his son by the giant’s name.

Ordericus Vitalis

Historia Ecclesiastica IV, 212 (as quoted in The Lost Literature of Medieval England by R.M. Wilson)

being more than most

being of some parts larger

(the girth)

being loud of mouth & large of appetite

being proud of his size

his strength

BOO!!

set a scare

AMONG US

certain: was talked about

uncertain: what was said

certain: a jest

uncertain: whether he would have thot it funny

came there

to that cross

Christianity then

in England

circa 65 a.d.

among the saints the disciples the crowds that gathered

Andronicus

Junias

Buamundus

us as us

history

as in

we have one

remembered

forgotten

all at once &

together

the absence inseparable from the presence

gone so much longer Lord than You were with us

being drunk one night

pissed in a stream

overflowed

the whole town flooded

no one would speak of it

fearing they had

wet their beds

a sign

the witches still said

of inconstancy

this & other tales

before his conversion

was said to have slept with

various women

possible

as he was

small for his size

(source of some shame

tho for his situation --

lack of other giants --

a blessing)

rumoured to have impregnated

all the women in one village

at their request

was actually shy but

in demand

longed for

the company of

ordinary folks

other

people

Briefly:

Unhappy

And

Misunderstood

Until

Near

Disciples.

Ultimately (& this stands outside the known pattern) it is their

Story

part 3

‘Esperaunce in the worlde nay.

The world variethe every day.

Esperaunce en dieu in hym is all,

For he is above fortunes fall’

Anonymous ‘in the roofe of the hyest chawmbre in the gardynge’ at the Duke of Northumberland’s house at Leconfield, as quoted in J.G. Russell’s The Field of Cloth of Gold (London 1969.)

night

in the fields under the stars

sleeping

three

one + ONE + one

equals

we sing Thy praises Lord, talk endlessly of Thy sacrifice

Thy greatness Lord is sung of in this far land by many who never knew You in Your humanness, Your frailties

we are shadows Lord, cast out from Thee, fallen upon this distant shore among other shadows, Your orchads

our voices echo over the rocks & trees & in our echoing Lord we praise Thee

but did you see them upon the mountain tops?

or in the hills of Albion?

gone & forever gone gone

without hope of returning

gone in human body gone

into death into heaven into

gone beyond reach of talking

gone beyond reach of singing

in our prayers

listening

the wind

the leaves

bird songs

among the shifting, creaking

were said to have

visited many villages

preaching

a sight

remarkable for

its strangeness

Andronicus

depicting Buamundus as

a convert from

the ranks of

the Green Man

who now declared

Christ & Jehovah

greater than

the deities & godlings of

these parts

tho many questioned the effectiveness of

one prayer one God

whether He could

possibly answer them all

(most having come from large families)

the idea

took hold

some rumours of

strange encounters in

these times

a woman

returning home late

saw the giant

naked dancing in a field

accompanied by

three equally naked

girls

Buamundus

declared another giant

guilty

tho none were known in

those parts

certain: nothing

uncertain: they converted many of the small villages & isolated holdings in the southwest of most of what was then Britain

certain: by 75 A.D. Christianity had spread thru most of Britain

uncertain: what these three had to do with it.

85 a.d.

a description then, some listing of their last years, their deaths

part 4

‘bran, crow

bran vras, raven

bran dre, rook’

from A CORNISH-ENGLISH DICTIONARY edited by Morton Vance

· (some history sketched)

· (a sermon: fragments)

did this thing as i have told you of which if there is any man or woman can say different step forward

so in my grieving it came to me a penance i could do in this world for he who tries to enter into heaven shall open the gates of hell you must renounce your claim on heaven to enter it you must enter into this world to claim heaven

take up our words as we took up His your conviction convinces others of His words

do not be quick to rebuke or condemn lest in the words leaving your lips you echo yourself

we will not see it in our lifetime nor in our children’s lifetime nor in the lifetimes of their children’s children but in the time of all their children this loving & this forgiveness will be everywhere until we will have founded the peaceful Kingdom God intended for us in this world

· (a further geography [hindsight])

the unknown

was/is

(at least partially)

Canada

later

‘The New World’

where

‘the streets were

paved with

gold’

(trace memory of

the afterlife

Valhalla

heaven

the world of

faerie

over the North Atlantic

(a voyage)

the owl &

the pussycat &

· (the reasoning)

there were rumours or legends

‘the lands beyond

the lands we know’

peopled

it was supposed

a further penance

because they (Andronicus [the owl] &

Junias [the pussycat]) could not

know peace in this world nor (possibly)

heaven (in another)

set out with

Buamundus

no maps

under a yellow sun

in a green boat

on a blue sea

· (details)

pillars

of shimmering glass

(in fact

more pyramidal

in shape &

made of ice)

islands of

fire in

the cold

(volcanic)

monsters

(whales, etc.)

wind & sea

(wind & sea)

· (flashback)

Andronicus

seized the opportunity for

a last

sermon

gathering

the villagers on

the beach (mostly

rocks tho

some small pebbles)

addressed them from

the boat where

the three travellers

sat

much joking in

the crowd about

how Buamundus might

sink the ship with

his weight

the theme

Andronicus chose: ‘how

faith

keeps us afloat’

· (more details)

an island

dotted lines on the few extant maps

........

· (theories)

known (sort of): a giant

slept on

an island in

the North Atlantic

Brendan

discovered

awoke &

lent him a hand

circa 500 a.d.

unknown (really): whether

he was

Buamundus

theory 1: Buamundus

quarreled with

Andronicus &

Junias

somehow

thrown overboard

survived on

that island

400 years &

more (the

lifespan of

giants

not being known)

theory 2: Buamundus

requested to be

let out

BUAMOUTNDUS

stands guard over

this bleak region

assisting Christian travellers on

their quests

theory 3: an older giant

Chronos

slept there

Buamundus knew this &

avoided the island

having heard the legend as

a child

a century or more

before

theory 4: none of the above

· (maps)

none of this was (of course) recorded

· (biographical note)

variants exist

(the same information

juggled differently)

viz: Bron

the castrate fisher king

who sleeps

& guards the grail

Bran

(Chronos by another name)

on that island

sleeping

Brendan

as mentioned

Brun

(portmanteau -- an older god in these parts [i.e. Canada])

all the above linked to

the Sleeping Giant (Lake Superior, Thunder Bay)

Buamundus

Bua being

possible variant spelling of

Bron &/or Bran

mundus

the world &

being as he was/is

a world figure

(again

Atlas

Bran/Chronos by a 3rd name)

held the world on

his shoulders

formulaic spelling = mundus/bua

i.e. bua is under

in the under world

the underworld carries

the world on its

back

Faerie &

the Isle of Avalon

(where Bron sleeps)

etc. etc.

these

& other

probable systems

facts

· (the unknown)

boat

shore water

Q: what shore?

Q: which boat?

(this

the whole question of

discovery

i.e.

‘Who’s on first?’)

Q: who’s in the boat?

(one + one + ?)

Q: which body of water?

· (the gravity of the situation)

earth relative to the sun

the sun

relative to

the galaxy’s heart

both rotating

the galaxy

relative to

other galaxies

forming a larger cluster

still rotating

the whole thing moving outwards

from a central point or probable beginning

no longer perceivable

parallel: the soul/self

relative to

the body

relative to

some companion’s heart

(family/lover/friend)

both revolving

/changing

relative to

other people

forming larger units of selves

(neighbourhoods/towns/cities/etc.)

still changing

the whole thing

everyone

growing older &

dying

from a central point or

beginning

no longer perceivable

application: miles from anywhere

in terms of

the known

in terms of

a language or

cultural grouping

the two or

three of them of

mixed racial &

tribal origin

moving too far outward from

their centres to

even perceive them

· (possible scenario)

Buamundus is with them. They travel inland along a huge waterway, thru vast lakes, past giant moving walls of water, to a final landing on a tree covered shore. Here Buamundus falls asleep (this being a common disease with giants (numerous incidents recorded)) & cannot be awakened. Andronicus & Junias continue on. They move south &, as old men, find their way among the Mayans (carvings of men with semitic noses having been discovered in Mayan ruins). No record of their preaching is preserved nor is their death recorded. Buamundus sleeps to this day.

· (another scenario)

Travelling inland they discover the Sleeping Giant (their second). Careful not to wake him they continue westward, Buamundus building scattered circles of earth & stone along the way (such being found in Ontario, Alberta (possible proof of a return to earlier beliefs on Buamundus’s part)). Eventually Andronicus & Junias part ways with him (his views seeming, to them, heretical). Buamundus wanders north, falling asleep, is frozen, eventually, his body drifting out to sea (deep source for the Frankenstein legend or, latterly, The Thing &/or the Captain America of the 1960’s). Andronicus & Junias travel over the rockies to the west coast & once more set out to sea. Here all surmises become too entangled in tribal variants for even a tentative outline to have any validity.

· (addition)

the facts:

what it all adds up to

· (the end)

open to

misconstruction &

fanaticism

which does not yield to

science or

history (in that

sense)

thru which

the named shadows of

Andronicus, Junias & Buamundus

flicker

but are never glimpsed

1978-79

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