carnival of basel

[tsubame]

There was a small gnat flying about my arms as I was doing the dishes. It landed light as a feather's brush on my skin, and I held myself back from swatting it, from running water over it-- because if one is going to subscribe to a philosophy of the preciousness of life, one must hold to it even when inconvenient. Instead I blew gently on my arm, and the gnat took off again, circling the sink, then close to the plate I was washing-- too close: it got caught in the waterfall of water over the edge of the plate, and carried over to dash against the side of the sink. I turned off the water, but it was long past too late; the gnat's body was a tiny, twisted black scribble on the metal surface.

"For heaven's sake," I told it, "if you go courting your own death there's not much I can do about it."

. . . it should be noted that my philosophy on life does not extend to mold, cockroaches, or mosquitoes. Perfection is for God, after all, according to the Qur'an.

Comments

[apis-cerana.livejournal.com]

I don't feel bad killing mosquitoes or any other blood-sucking insect, or any sort of parasite. Leave my body alone :|

I found this Tumblr and thought of you.
http://bluepueblo.tumblr.com/

I compared it to the website I sent to you with the gorgeous photos of rural Japan -- the photos in the Tumblr are mostly western, but also appealing to me in a distant, mystical sort of way. Damn, I want to go EVERYWHERE and see everything.

[grey-damaskena.livejournal.com]

::laughs:: Fair deal. I'm generally opposed to being on the menu, myself.

Thank you very much for the Tumblr link! Those photos are amazing. My reblog queue is going to grow by leaps and bounds. LET US GO EVERYWHERE AND SEE EVERYTHING.