In Abeyance of a Small God

In a Beginning

• • •

 

At some point, nearing the advent of his 57th year, Atticus Johnson became aware of a small god that inhabited a cave in the back of his mind. Although he had not been previously aware of the small god’s existence, it nevertheless seemed to him that the small god must always have been there, for the cave was ancient, and seemed to have been inhabited for a long time. When Atticus Johnson became aware that the small god was dwelling in a cave somewhere at the back of his mind, he also had the sense that the cave was situated slightly to the left, which he found slightly odd, since whilst it seemed obvious to refer to parts of his brain in such simple spatial terms it had never previously occurred to him that his mind might share a similar geography. Another slight oddity that accompanied Atticus Johnson’s discovery of the small god in his hidden cave, at the back left of his mind, was that it never occurred to him to wonder whether the small god had a name, or indeed to give him one. He simply contented himself of thinking of the small god as “the small god”. Rather, he was almost solely concerned with the question of what the small god’s purpose was, and sometimes gave some small thought to the matter of how the small god came to be there in the first instance.

His thoughts on this second matter generally led him to the conclusion that the question was futile, since all evidence pointed to the likelihood that the small god had always been there and must have taken up residence in the earliest stages of development of his brain, or mind, or whatever substrate gods require to make a home. He spent much more of his time pondering what the small god’s purpose was. Because for almost infinite periods of time, the small god simply did nothing but sit and look at his fire.

 

 

 

 

 

*** 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

… 

Published Excerpts

…

In Abeyance of a Colonic Resection (Poetry Habitat)

In Abeyance of a Grand Mal Seizure (Poetry Habitat)

The Small God in the Back of my Mind (Chautauqua)