Three Twisted Knots

Gwyneth: Like a bird on a wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free.

My human father listened to a lot of Leonard Cohen. I think there was something about doing uni in the 70s that made guys like Leonard Cohen. Anyway, I was thinking about that the other day. After I fled Dyisi and still felt her everywhere, I just closed my eyes and turned another corner. And I found myself, as I often do, in a very odd place: Balloons.

I was on a bare patch of ground, surrounded by yellow flowers that might have been sunflowers, which I’ve only ever seen in pictures.

The light was oddly flat, dark, dusty, reddish. Frankly, it was oppressive. But then I thought of another song, one my mother used to sing:

Be like a bird, who pausing in her flight on a limb too slight feels it give way beneath her, yet sings, sings, knowing she has wings, yet sings, sings, knowing she has wings.

And of course I did have wings. I do have wings:

wings on my back, wings round my neck. Wings I have.

So I stood, and then I flew.

Eventually I found myself watching other beings trying, in their way, to be free.

It was about the balloons.

Suddenly, more than anything, I wanted a balloon of my own.

I wanted a balloon of my own. Why couldn’t I have a balloon? Forget the cobwebs, the city in disarray, the blank faces of the searchers: I wanted a balloon!

I chased and chased, but never caught, even though my wings lifted me.

And then I thought, how long have these beings been here, chasing balloons? Why chase balloons, when I have wings of my own?

So I flew back to the flowers that might have been sunflowers, which I have only ever seen in pictures.

I ended as I began, surrounded by flowers that might be sunflowers, which I have only ever seen in pictures. And I had that moment of wondering if I’d get back from this one, and then that instant of certainty, and then there was a corner to turn, a knot to untie, and I was back in the Great Seelie Forest, back in my grove of choice.

I landed as ever on the altarstone. I let myself grow quiet, took a breath.

I took a breath and thanked my goddess for bringing me home safely once again.

Oh, Lady. Your blessings are as abundant as the stars that fell to earth and became the dust that built our Faerie. I honour you with every breath.

This post is about wings, both literal and figurative. The literal wings are in the style card, below. The figurative wings, oh, yes; let’s discuss those.

I got a LumiPro. This is a SL photography tool that gives me complete control over light. Or it will, once I have begun to master it! For those who might read this who have one: I’ll bet you can tell the photograph at which I began to realise how to control the floodlight, for example! Anyway, I’ve had this for less than 24 hours, and I cannot stop playing with it. They offer a fully functional trial at their studio, and if you’re like me you’ll want to buy in like ten minutes. Maybe less if you know what you’re doing! Their team is helpful, efficient, and willing to talk. The videos on their website are concise and easy to understand.

To give you an idea, the shot titled, “I ended as I began” is actually my very first LumiPro shot in the field. The shot titled “This post is about wings….” was taken about ten hours later, with a sleep in the middle. I may be in love.

Style Card:
The beautiful new wings Gwyneth is wearing are the newest from Faeline. They’re called Sayuri, and they come in five colours. This is Apple. Faeline were the first SL wings I ever spent money on, and I recommend them and enjoy them and go back to them again and again.
The stunning necklace is from Empyrean Forge, called The Dreamer. It’s available in several different kinds. The white colour is called Barn, and there is a Brown colour as well. This one is Serenity-Barn-Vibrant. It’s an exclusive for The 100 Block; I actually went there just to buy this necklace. There was an awful lot of pink there. I’m just sayin’.
The dress is a gacha item from The Seasons Story, Vintage Rose from Zenith (You don’t even want to know. Let’s just say it might have been in the ballpark of what you’d expect to pay for, I don’t know. A treehouse. Or maybe a LumiPro.).
Body: SLink
Skin: Curio
Hair: Tableau Vivant
Circlet: On A Lark
Shoes: SLink
Locations: Balloons, The Great Seelie Forest
Poses: Musa, Hopscotch, Black Tulip, MaVie, Axix