When the shark looks up, he sees stars. Taurus gores
the night sky. Ursus ambles toward morning. A squid glides
past, legs trailing in the cold sea, underside lit with radiant
bacteria the predators below confuse for constellations
rippling across the sky. Humans know better. We scrape
microbes from the luminous bellies of cephalopods,
harvest a gel that lights a street. We fill a syringe, inject
leaves with the sparkling genetic dust of eels,
and birds veer from a park’s fabricated glow. We clap
on fireflies, trap them flaming in jars, and sometimes,
in our haste, snuff out the life, but not the light
of insects whose green neon smears up to our elbows.
Even as children, we seize what shines.
About Bill Parod, who created the soundtrack:
After many years developing cultural heritage projects at Northwestern University, from Ancient Greek Epic Poetry to Buddhist Cave Shrine Paintings, Bill has recently returned to his first loves: violin, improvisation and composition. Recent collaborations include improvisations on amplified violin, 8-channel spacial sound compositions for Burning Man, probabilistic sound installations of Sumatran jungle ambience, and augmented reality apps/public art overlays. Bill lives in Evanston, Illinois. This work with Lynn McGee is an exciting new collaborative effort in narrative arts.
