*Note to accompany: This text, the remarkable wild:/ an unknown continent/ a term used to mean/ geographers were positive/ imagination to run riot/ writers depicted/ gems and jewels is a creative reading, which is to say sourced from, The Remarkable Voyages of Captain Cook by Rhoda Blumberg and The Wild Orphan by Robert Froman, it is comprised of multiple sections which appear in sequence yet seemingly not in completeness. This may be experienced as a literal opening for the reader to engage in Nils Enkvist’s concept of interpreting the text, which is the building of a “text world”, It may also bring to the mind the work of Kathy Acker for some readers.
the remarkable wild:
a term used to mean
geographers were positive
imagination to run riot
writers depicted
gems and jewels
1
it was late afternoon
in March
from that moment on
a privileged passenger
passionately interested in botany and zoology
2
cut off from the outside world
unusual
an unusual man
official instructions
to proceed southward
to make discovery
to describe the people
to cultivate friendship and alliance
to take a correct observation of the transit of Venus
the first voyage
was a tunnel into the side of the hill a quarter of a mile down the valley
busy unlocking the great, rusty padlocks and swinging the huge door on its squealing hinges
once he overheard
but
thought they wanted him to overhear
he
was positive he was dealing with spies
more interested in fortifications than flowers
3
land of giants
consisting of two artists, two sailors, an astronomer, a surgeon,
charts, and notes
nine months after
in the direction away
the surgeon did not feel unhappy or mistreated
the astronomer nuzzled her and encouraged her
the difference, in size and strength, between the surgeon and the others was getting a little greater almost every day
noiselessly and swiftly
she crouched behind a bush one last time
and made a little sound halfway between a purr and a meow
it was the last time
paradise
extolled
succumbed to the embraces
remembered had been destroyed
stealing everything that came within their reach
stockings
beautiful silver-trimmed white jacket
waistcoat
a quadrant
an iron rake
twenty-five large canoes that were loaded with fish
muskets
pistols
the fish began to rot and stink
the astronomer chose a site on the beach for observing the transit
surrounded by a wall that had six swivel guns
where love is the chief occupation
the price for lovemaking was nails
there was not a cloud in the sky
a penumbra spoiled the viewing
all over the world
the direction of the wind had changed
air no longer flowed
one sailor and one artist caught on the breeze the scent of the surgeon
she did not hear the sailors until they were almost on her
barking and lunging from this side and that
the second artist was filled with awe
never had she seen an animal so handsome as the surgeon nor a spectacle so dramatic
the whole world seemed empty
5
the second artist stayed where she was a long time
her pain and misery slowly got to be a little less
then she heard the second sailor talking
“you won’t have to worry about them
they’ll starve quick after her”
the astronomer was not hungry for his supper that night
but he tried to eat a little
all he could see was a dark, narrow opening
astonishing customs
hundreds of pricks that drew blood
to hold the surgeon down
the astronomer in mourning gashed the top of his head using sharks’ teeth until blood flowed freely
the opening was big enough for him to get his head and shoulders through,
but the idea of crawling into the dark cave made him a little sick
one of the stones seemed a little different
it was furry
faintly warm
for a long moment he could find no sign of life
then he saw the surgeon’s sides slowly rise and fall as she took a tiny breath
rising to his knees, held her to his chest
“starving!” he said out loud
“starving to death”
6
cannibals and goblins
she seemed to be a monstrous, supernatural waterbird
the offenders collected shells, flowers, tree blossoms, and stones, probably for magical reasons
they hid in the bushes
tired and frightened the astronomer somehow decided that the surgeon was safe
he crawled beside her, curled up, and went to sleep
he had always liked her
even her smell seemed pleasant to him when it came faintly from a distance
he felt very confident
the astronomer knew the surgeon would never hurt him
what he noticed was the sound of the surgeon’s voice and her smell and feel
for many weeks she was almost everything that mattered to him
her presence became a reason of purring with contentment
7
a unique land
two weeks after
the offenders ran away
they had no desire for possessions
all they seemed to want was to be gone
but the surgeon did not have to think about them now
all that mattered was the wonderful fact of having the astronomer, the other artist, and the other sailor and being so important to them
trapped
trying
colorful butterflies
watching attentively
flailing wildly
blended almost invisibly
a healthy crew
proud of an unusual record
fanatic about good nutrition
teeth loosened or fell out
joints swelled
covered with sores
8
the surgeon was growing bigger and more beautiful every day
port
six weeks after
open sewers and stinking
garbage-filled canals
a cesspool that bred killing diseases
the four others were dead
while the astronomer and the surgeon were bedded down
two years and eleven months after
home again
fulfilled their instructions
she began to realize where she was
the offenders’ scent lingering in the space probably triggered a dim memory
she had been unsafe here before
she apparently accepted the imprisonment as the natural way to live
when the astronomer came back each morning
he greeted her with a great display of mews and purring
she would pick him up and cuddle him for a while
and he would lick her labia and clitoris vigorously
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