On A Clear Day by Chipka
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Description
“The sea,” Pavo said. “It’s a lot like us.” He picked his way along algae-slick rocks—the flesh of his feet pale against the granite and the inky-green growth that slimed the rock faces. He was careful with each step, toes splayed as if to catch his weight and clench each boulder as he walked. He could have kept to flatter beachfront land, but he wanted to feel the slime and the salt and keep the grit of sand from biting the soft spaces between his toes.
“Like us?” His companion smiled—knowing perhaps that Pavo’s half-expressed thoughts contained a mythmaker’s wealth of stories and their associations.
“It dreams,” Pavo said. “It remembers its life elsewhere…up there.” He cocked his chin in a head-tilting gesture that flung dark hair from his eyes and encompassed the sky. “Maybe some of it was moisture breathed from some long-dead hero’s lungs. It drifted upward and took its place in the clouds before some change in barometric pressure or temperature locked it into a raindrop. That drop fell to the sea, carrying its memories with it, and so it became a part of what the sea remembers.”
His companion smiled and fell into contemplative silence, perhaps listening to the sea and allowing Pavo’s words to shape his perceptions. He listened, maybe, to the lisping hiss of water and rock, water and sand, water and wind: the song of the sea, heavy with the wordless narrative that contained everything the world’s water knew.
Pavo was an asset to the crew: more than a planetologist. His life in the Service was a hero’s quest, or so everyone said. He leavened the dry facts of science with subjective and colorful truths, wove mythic and poetic stories around all that he discovered. And now, here on the face of Thetis—a world richer in water than even old Earth—Pavo walked with naked feet on a broken shore. His companion walked beside him.
* * *
I remember the day I took this picture. I’d spent the night at Corey’s place and stayed up late, watching something on DVD. It had been only a few months since I’d been back in Chicago and I still felt pangs of homesickness for Prague. English, I’d discovered, was too harsh a language, devoid of the musical bounce of Czech. I needed moments alone, and so as Corey slept and as his roommate Andrea slept, I went for an early morning walk and found myself on the shore of Lake Michigan. It promised to be a clear and sunny day, though there were clouds in the sky. I was struck by a low formation, close to the horizon and dark with the promise of something heavy. I framed this shot, and now as I post it, I wonder at Pavo and his story, and because of this story, I wonder what the world’s lakes, oceans, and seas remember? Is there a drop of water from the Vltava river in Lake Michigan, and of so, what memories of the Czech lands might it contain?
As always, thank you for viewing, reading, and commenting, and I hope you're all having a great week.
Comments (26)
Sea_Dog
Stunning work, Chip. The image is a masterpiece of lighting.
TwoPynts
Golden goodness!
Sepiasiren
sepia, orange, brown and yellow--all come together here in fab detail--this is moving and beautiful--thank you!
myrrhluz
As is frequently the case, your words sent my mind skipping and weaving down a myriad of different paths. Images of the circular motion of H20 over the ocean seen in a science school book, Carl Sagan, "We are made of star stuff.",and thoughts of the interconnectedness of all things. We need science to understand the workings of the world, but words like Pavo's (and yours) help us find rich meaning in it. Your words bring such images into my mind. I love that. "naked feet on a broken shore" Wonderful! I love the idea of a drop of water in Lake Michigan remembering a far off eastern land. Beautiful image! Lovely color and light! The clouds on the horizon look solid and seem to be marching across the scene. I love the dark shapes at the bottom and the way the reflected light makes a wide pathway across the water.
beachzz
This is the kind of view that makes me stop and take it in. It's contemplative, and peaceful, yet there's also an energy, as though things are ready to begin. I like this a LOT!!
helanker
What a lovely view. The story is even more lovely. It is really touching and very beautiful.
durleybeachbum
I feel as though I'm looking from the top of a cliff at huge stone stacks from an ancient headland.
sharky_
Beautiful... Aloha
babuci
I like your meaningful thinking. This is a wonderful waterscape and a golden shine is so wonderful on the water.
kgb224
Wonderful capture and story line my friend.
MrsRatbag
Yes. Yes.
flavia49
splendid image! I love the golden colors!! great text!
bmac62
Very contemplative for me. I've never thought of water having memory. But why not? The latest National Geographic is dedicated to "Water, Our Thirsty World". There is a folding map, "World of Rivers, A New Mapping of Every River System". I'll bet the subject of water with memories must be written about all through that special issue...why not...there's a lot of smart people working for NG...right? Well, maybe they don't have your imagination...but then maybe they'd be smart to hire you for creative input. I think so...IMHO. :-D Now, to your photo. Early morning on the shores of Lake Michigan...bright light, growing brighter by the minute, morning stillness, old wooden remnants. And yes, among those countless surface ripples, stirred by early breezes...I too can hear voices from the past. And I might even be able to understand them if I could translate the thousands of languages they are speaking all at once. Intelligent babble...do you hear it too? Great photo and creative postwork Chip.
watapki66
Very nicely done!
sandra46
a new masterpiece again! wonderful color and light!!!!!!
jmb007
splendide photo!!!!
MrsLubner
Glistening...inviting, enriching capture.
EricSBauer
Very cool composition! I love the golden glow of the scene, especially off the water. And the rocks add to composition perfectly. Well done.
KatesFriend
Does the sea have memory? Many a mariner both ancient and modern would likely say yes. By extension, do alien seas have memories and are they anything like those of Terran seas? The photo seems to reflect such memory in all its complexity and subtleties. And if seas do have memories then they would be equally as expansive.
auntietk
Ah, my friend. Do you know the movie The Point from a gazillion years back? There's a song from that movie you might like, called Think About Your Troubles When I read what you wrote, that song started running. It's a nice, light little thing, and doesn't contain the gem of memory, but still ... it was what came immediately to mind, so I'm sharing it with you. I love the idea of memory contained in water. What happens when that water is filtered, desalinated, consumed? Could that be why people sometimes remember past lives? What a fascinating concept.
minos_6
Is that the remains of a pier in the foreground? Great use of light and shadow in this picture. Your post work is subtle and excellent! Interesting and very romantic words too.
SIGMAWORLD
Beautiful!
zulaan
Beautiful gold atmosphere !
0rest4wicked
If you partake of that body of water would those memories be passed on? A well spoken and seen image.
nikolais
Still, water has memory.. definitely isolated lakes and rivers thousands of miles away are so closely connected. love the golden-tone capture
romanceworks
A lovely seascape. I want a friend like Pavo, who can make the sea even more beautiful. CC