A few weeks ago, my good friend Jay (BrooklynKaiju) released another monthly art prompt on his twitch channel where he asked to create something that looks and sounds relatively simple: "Create a personification/character of your creative spark". On the surface it seemed like a straightforward task except for 2 problems. One is that I don't really draw/illustrate people really well and second... what the heck does my inner spark even look like? The latter took me on a path of quite a bit of self discovery. Perhaps thats a story worth telling another time.
After some profound self-discovery and pondering about how do you personify feelings, ideologies, hopes and wishes, I came to a conclusion that it cannot be fairly and adequately portrayed in one character. Instead I felt that the spark sits in three major categories, hence the three characters; The Child, The Fool & The Bard.
I am the voice of never-never-land.
The innocence, the dreams of every man.
I am the empty crib of peter pan.
A silent kite against the blue blue sky,
Every chimney, every moonlit sight.
I am the story that will read you real,
Every memory that you hold dear.
(*)
And if you’ll ever-ever go astray,
Please search inside, don’t ever turn away.
Just grab my hand, and I will show the way.
Back to the time when you were wild and free,
When you were forging kingdoms in the tree.
Imagine worlds beyond just what they seem,
Ignore the “no’s” and simply dare to dream.
A thirsty court has poured the wine,
The purple robes of golden cast.
They watch the dancing, loony swine,
And arm the probes to spit and blast.
“I am a Fool, I dance alone,
So laugh your timid hearts away.
I am the fool you’ve always known,
Yet I won’t stay for long this way.”
The court is howling at the fool,
Their souls are slowly getting sacked.
Their blindness fouling, and too cruel,
To see the grandeur of his act.
“I am a Fool, come dance along.
You - royal staff, can be like me.
I am a Fool, yet not for long.
But if you laugh, you’ll always be.”
Settle down and rest your feet.
And hear the strings that start to hum.
The tales of triumphs and defeat,
The paths that people overcome.
I am the bard, I travelled far.
I’ve witnessed hardship and deceit.
Saw wealthy peasants and poor czars.
Heard siren’s songs that crashed the ship.
Now here I sit, to tell a tale,
In hopes that you can live it too.
Put on the shoes, unmask the veil.
A wild adventure calls for you.
Escape the now and come with me,
Enjoy the thrill, let down your guard.
Imagine all that you can be,
Just trust the childish, foolish bard.
In a way, the three characters represent three credos for my inner spark. The Bard is a representation of the adventure that I am on, the desires of the future and even goals in some ways. The Fool is sort of a reminder to myself to let myself be foolish. To give myself enough space to try things, to let go of past insecurities, break old habits and not be afraid to start something. Even if it makes you look foolish. And finally The Child is a simple reminder to hold dear all the things that inspired me and to remember to stay childishly curious about things. I think this representation of my inner spark is fairly accurate at least for now. It would be truly interesting to keep this in mind and if these feelings ever change, then I shall give it another go.
Like with everything that I do - there is definitely more to unpack in the imagery and the lyrics. But perhaps it should be saved for a conversation and not a heartless static manner in a form of pixels on a black mirror.
(*) Excerpt from Storytime By Nightwish
