Dreaming to the Music of a Jackhammer (Madness in 1000 Words or Less)

in #fiction7 years ago

Bike.jpg

Around and around, just for the Zen of it. I cycled around the track, speaking little, swerving to miss the broken shard of glass. 10 times, 20 times, 30 times… Bicircling. Time faded. Once the rhythm kicked in, I was lost in thought. I just can’t remember when or how I lost my way.

That was Zen, not now. A penny for my thoughts? Sartre would call it existential if you think it doesn’t fit. Gandhi would say it’s too violent, but smile just the same. Lao Tzu would say you got no game, punk, and where’s your balance? Vedder would say it doesn’t need to go anywhere. Stein would say “there’s no there there.” Presley would tell you they’ll call it crazy if they don’t understand you. Joyce would say you’re one of us, but that I doubt, as it’s more akin to poetry. Such poetry. And the chorus sings ‘doot doot doot do doot doot doot.’

Nearby, a jackhammer was playing. Electronic beats, pleasantly irregular, as steel chopped up concrete and sent it flying. Safety goggles not included. Rocky percussion with a hint of tin and an imbalance that left one grasping for the right pace. The jackhammer beat sounds better than that electronic autoplay from the club. Someone stage an intervention: intervene on that stage and hand those kids a guitar.

Noise is noise; it takes patience to sort through the rubble and find beauty within. The sound of progress, addition by subtraction, and two steps back as one ground gives way to another. Listen closely and you'll pick out the double-e waterfall in a night of diamonds.

JackhammerChocolate1.jpg

Lucy, where have you gone? Nowhere in sight. I may be a taste eclectic, but definitely don’t do drugs. I need a clear line of sight towards crazy or there’s no deal.

Lost in a reverie, I wrote a new post in my mind. It was about a box of rain and I don’t quite know how to put it. Two steps back and we’re at Fork 20, the last big thing before the next big thing that never came, then onward to the rocks of the promised land if that be our final destination. Such a long, long time I rode around the track, spinning that track in my mind. Music would play to the tide and the Danish girl would whirl.

About the time the moon rose, nature called for a hot beverage, and security locked the gate tight with me inside. Having moonlighted as a teenager in times past, I can climb a chain link, but getting that bike over the fence is a spasm built for two. How high can it bounce? My kingdom for a patch kit.

I’m long past the street noise, lying in bed, recalling the past as I wait for the sandman to strike a chord. Dust me with sand and I’m outta here. To sleep, perchance to dream. Add some lye and boil it to a crisp. No, hotter, and find an elf to work the bellows. Dye the glass and blow me a vase. That jagged piece of green glass at the track kept me swerving behind the drinking fountain, preventing the perfect oval. I will not be denied next time.

JackhammerChocolateFlakes.jpg

Refresh to jackhammers. A tale awaits. Swat the flies first and here comes the worst. Awoken by a terrible noise, I recalled belatedly that my employer had a key to my flat. As daylight swept the broken glass from my dreams, my gaze settled on a vase of rare beauty at the foot of the bed. Porcelain. The Valkyrie had risen before me and now she fished for her undergarments near my feet. She left me to complete my rude awakening to the roar of a jackhammer in the next room.

Valkyrie.jpg

But all of this was two steps back. Start me up again and let me feel my way to a beginning.

I once worked in Copenhagen, a fair city with a fair maid. One morning, I awoke to the sound of jackhammering in my kitchen. Faux brick floor, but half naked and stripped of its finery, the undergarment was thick concrete. The jackhammer was tearing up the kitchen floor, supervised by two Lego figures in suits and ties. There was a leak in the apartment downstairs and they hadn’t needed to knock; the jackhammering woke me up, and wasn’t it time to get to work?

Jackhammer.jpg

The gaping hole in my floor began on a Friday and persisted for three days. No shower but the frozen faucet outside. Life continued in unzippered darkness, and I cooked my own meals with no blonde assistance. Meat? Too expensive. Tuna and sour rye from the market. For sauce, you’ll find that V-8 juice works quite well, if a little soupy. My Japanese boss thought a case of V-8 was just the thing for my Christmas bonus. Quickly, it became more useful than two movie tickets.

JackhammerTomato.jpg

Thank heaven it’s loaded with sodium. I put that tomato juice to good use as I warmed the can with a cigarette lighter. The drilling in my ears kept up, but the dudes were gone, so no one paid it any mind. And I perched over the abyss, face down like the Jack of Hearts, until I had the notion to order my own jackhammer.

JackhammerPeanuts.jpg

Like a mantra, that music spun again. House beats, house blend, the stuttering roar. Punch through the flooring and I could see the apartment below. Concrete raining down like manna from heaven. I knew she was down there somewhere, but had she lost her way? On the midnight watch, I stared down and realized why she'd taken a hike.

Music remains elusive. But rye manna overcame both the tuna and tomato juice, so there is hope for me yet. As above, so below. The hole was not an end, but the portal to a promised land. More rocks and stop by the gift shop on your way out. I know that in time, if I keep digging, she will appear again amidst the rocks. Melody shines through the madness.

GirlTrackRocks.jpg

All images are public domain from Pixabay. No references cited here, but apologies to the Grateful Dead, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, the Beatles, and probably more for my misuse of their classic rock lyrics, and apologies to jackhammers for likening their sound to electronic music.

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How do people do this? Is it some special abilities to just bury yourself so deep in your imaginations and start ranting that it seems it's some dreams to me. Really I'm interested, do you use some voice to text tool cause I'm sure to produce something of this height, the words must flow without breaks.

It's some combination of real experiences, random thoughts, and then forming connections between some of the ideas, developing those, and then cutting out the random stuff that doesn't fit quite as well. There's no deeper meaning, since much of it is junk I added. With time, I'm sure you can do better.

Though I haven't actually posted any on Steemit, but I usually use a voice to text tool to make some random talks and got something like what you have here. But just sounded so cool, I'd say cool junk

It seems i was dreaming while reading your article. A fiction mind is very creative and full of fantasy - anyway its an art and all inventions that we have now is just a fantasy yesterday :)

Thanks. There was some fiction involved and some reality, but the madness is all for show. :)

it was like i'm reading bible verses, quite subjective and subtle, i guess anyone who understands this post may probably mistaken, i'd rather eat my meal but i don't want to digest it, because i'm not sure what nutrients i could get. :)

Tom

My wife @lynncoyle1 said to read your poem. I write poetry too but this one my wife showed me is beautiful. I am still learning as I have been fighting Cancer and it motivates me to write. I just have to say a great piece here

Thanks. I'm not sure I agree in its greatness, as it seems rather silly to me, but glad others seem to like it. :) Edit: I just read your amazing post and hers as well, commenting on each. Please accept my best wishes in this difficult time and for the road ahead.

Advanced and great literary composition that will take only those with good knowledge of figurative skills to really understand. I must confess that I read this piece from A to Z without grabbing anything. Not a crime; English not my mother tongue. Good to be truthful. Thanks

@eurogee of @euronation community

It's funny you should say that, since I didn't grab onto anything while writing it either.

Oh good to hear.

Damn, this is what I call fiction. People should come learn how to write fiction from this. Thisbgot me glued and I couldnt just stop reading till I hit you apology note...hehehe

You've done a great job with thisb@donkeypong. Never knew you could venture into fictions as well.

Sometimes it's not just about fiction. This style of writing could as well nurture the telling of a non-fictional tale. In fact, journalists have been incorporating this style for a while to make their writings more intriguing to the readers.

Sometimes they overuse it and it's hard to see the message they're trying to convey, and those are not as successful except with the snobby readers who come for entertainment and not for news, but other times, they do it just right and you feel like you're reading a fiction book, a fantasy novel, perhaps, but it's all a take on true events.

There was plenty of reality in this story, but also a lot of overused junk. Hopefully, I didn't turn off any snobby readers. :)

Thanks. I don't see it as high quality stuff, but glad you enjoyed reading it. I think it's fun to experiment with different genres occasionally.

This was quite a strange read indeed, the title led me to think you where going to talk about jackhammers but it wasn't the case really, but you did talk about jackhammers, you insulted them comparing their sounds to electronic music. Fork 20 is coming soon and we know that we know almost nothing about it but what we know about it, its in the dark, we know that it probably will have impactful changes to the platform but we don't really know what these changes are going to be. Basically we know that we don't know what fork 20 is bringing us, but at least we know that something we know nothing about is coming on fork 20.

I live near the sea, like 100 meters away and on quiet nights when i'm not using my air conditioner, i can hear the waves crashing against the rocks, its very relaxing, its helps me sleep and have dreams where i am in the sea.

Give me waves over jackhammers any day. You are fortunate to live near the sea.

Wow,really great post you.your everyday post very special for me.because i am alots learning new thing to read your daily post.you are a super hero in the steemit platform.. I am a big fan of you and your post.. I am really like your truthsounds of a jackhammer and the fact that you make a comparison of this sound with musie. Wow when you read all your pulication of truth that. I have been enchanted with it, you write incredible and all the words written in your post are wise words and that they are the reality. For things like this was to get to your blog, and since I saw several of your publications is delighted by the way you write each of them. This is really specific that was very well written by you, let me congratulate you on the post..

@donkeypong, That would be very interesting to read funny indeed fiction story. Everyone see these jackhammer story and then take a idea how to write fiction stories. I don't mind you posting fiction stylish one. But you done it and succeed better. better characters included by you.

The sound of progress, addition by subtraction, and two steps back as one ground gives way to another. Listen closely and you'll pick out the double-e waterfall in a night of diamonds.

I think this is coming from deeply mindset. If you can going deeply meditation can create every stories with dream. But it's harder task. How you creation it? However highly recommend your better task. Thanks for everything did here early morning to me.

It's supposed to suggest a deeper mindset, but my mind is not in that place; I merely imagined this dream. The double-e waterfall and other bits are references to song lyrics, which are strung throughout the post.

Wow man this is pretty incredible. Doesn't look like you were writing a fiction. It looks like you were showing me the dream. This is an example of how to write a fiction.
You are an amazing writer mate. Anyways the pictures are wonderful. Cheers my friend

Glad you liked it. There was some reality, some fiction, and plenty of random junk mixed in there.