Jacob’s Ladder: the stairway to heaven
Dreaming of ascending into space
What’s so great about ‘up’?
What’s so bad about feeling ‘down’?
Why do I want control ‘over’ you?
Why should we ‘rise above’ our emotions, rather than sink under them?
What about sinking into space?
Earth is floating, without solid ground
In space, above = below
up/down
outer/inner
“We are going to the moon. That is not very far. Man has so much farther to go within himself.”
– Anaïs Nin
the universe within
standing on the oil rig, we gaze into the ocean
dark . unknown . emptiness
subconscious . shadow
fruitful black soil
Do you climb into the pool cautiously,
or just jump in?
Deep sea diving into the soul:
“I go down.
My flippers cripple me,
I crawl like an insect down the ladder”
“I came to explore the wreck …
the drowned face always staring
toward the sun
the evidence of damage
worn by salt and sway into this threadbare beauty”
“And I am here, the mermaid whose dark hair
streams black, the merman in his armored body …
I am she: I am he”
– Adrienne Rich
How deeply have voices touched us?
Which parts of ourselves have we buried and tried to forget?