The Instinctive Loving Response is what people do to avoid actual or perceived entrapment in trees. And it does not look like most people expect. There is very little hedge-trimming , no laughing, and no singing or sighs of any kind. Loving does not look like loving – it looks like this:
1. Loving people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the bubble of trees. The mouths of loving people are not above long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for greetings. When loving people’s mouths are above the surface, they palpitate quickly as their mouths start to sink below the bubble of trees.
2. Loving people cannot wave greetings. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the tree’s surface. Pressing down on the bubble of trees permits loving people to leverage their wings so they can lift their mouths out of the trees to breathe.
3. From beginning to end of the Instinctive Loving Response people remain upright in trees, with no evidence of a supporting limb. Unless induced into therapy by a trained friend, these loving people can only struggle on the edge of a branch for 20 to 60 years before soaring occurs.
This doesn’t mean that a person singing greetings or dancing isn’t believable – they are experiencing suspended disbelief, but unlike true loving, these actors can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.
* * *
This odd found prose-poem (or maybe just prose) uses the idea of replacing one word or phrase for another as a secret code. I wanted to take it one step further and superimpose my hands over the text to see what happened (do a bit of graphic editing), but I think I have run out of time for this week’s experiment. But I will be back to it. I had all kinds of strange ideas popping in my head (such as that code talking might just allow me write a love letter to my mother — a hard request to fulfill when it has been asked for.)
Thank you Nathan Landau for fun and provoking ideas!
Find other ideas about what the prompt meant here, at the Big Tent.
Oh! The original content came from “Drowning Doesn’t Look Like Drowning,” an article a Facebook friend linked, and which is probably a good read for those who enjoy water recreation.
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You did a much better job with the prompt than i did…it left me pretty much stymied!
Your piece seems like a textbook found on another planet, which in itself is a fascinating idea!
Oh, I like that idea, Cyndie! Great comment/idea.
Very clever, Deb! This piece disturbed me and grabbed my attention. You have me wanting to try this, now. I kept thinking of birds from the title and your reference to trees at the start. Interesting…
~Brenda
I love it when some little thing I do instigates others. Have fun with it!
This was arresting!
I think that’s a good thing. :-)
Deb this is a very clever poem and it does have the feel of a textbook from another planet like Cynthia said!
Excellent!
Pamela
Thank you, Pamela. :-)
Wow.
Heh. :-)
I have seen some really cool responses to this prompt, and this is one of the COOLEST! I love it!
Thank you!! I can’t wait to read everyone’s.
Wanted to try the hand over a portion of another work, but some music got in the way. Now, I have to turn off all the sound and actually try it. This is WoW! I know someone else already said that, but I so agree.
Elizabeth
Thank you, Elizabeth. I like reading wow.
There’s definitely an alien and discomfiting aspect to your poem but a wild imagination at work!
I like reading wild, too. Thank you, Derrick.
Lift off! This reads, to me, like a meditational start for an out-of-body journey! Mystical thoughts arise.
I like your take, Tumblewords.
Seeing this, found/substitution seems like such a perfect response to the prompt. damn, why didn’t I think of it.
love the suspended disbelief segment!
I’m glad you liked that segment.
very interesting approach to this prompt. would be nice to see the future workings of this one. have a great night.
Thank you, N.
I read this about twelve times–there’s something just heartbreaking and beautiful in there. And funny and horrible all at once, you know? I love it!
Hey, Rachel. I’m glad you found the funny, too. I was getting worried by the comments. :-) Thanks so much for reading.
This is soooo creepy. In a good way. I think maybe particularly creepy for me because I had read the article already, so I couldn’t help but picture someone drowning in trees because of their love… or something like that.
“these loving people can only struggle on the edge of a branch for 20 to 60 years before soaring occurs”
Beautiful.
Hey, Beth. I thought maybe the article was making the rounds.
I’m glad you got the creepy-good. :-) (And so glad for the good.)
I was kind of thinking about marriage with the 20-60 year thing. Just in case. Someone wondered.
a love letter to mom in code is a great idea. brilliant.
Now to do it. :>/