The Wall of Wonder…

And to the wall of wonder where each brick’s a gnome or nearly a gnome. Not all a known gnome but some the rarer more unknown gnomes. I’d do better here than to be a presumptive pedant. And so shall assume you know your gnomes. But (unable to help myself from helping yourself) if you don’t, here’s the definition: gnome: a short sentence or statement that expresses or summarises a general truth. For what it’s worth, gnomes please stand aside and to attention for a…I’m tempted to say gnomement but I’ll say moment and refrain from any endeavour at being funny. Donald Rumsfeld’s* known knowns answer given at a defence briefing contained “...because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know…” was, to me, a watertight example of both logic and language torture. I loved picking the bones from it and admired too the way it invoked, depending on your persuasion, a wish to understand it or to reject it. For me, it drew focus and achieved its aim yet sadly, for our dear Donald, landed him with a ‘Foot in Mouth’ accolade.

Okay gnomes, at ease, back to the wall. I imagine soon myself clothed head to toe in the colour of night. Not so much as I was in the night rider episode of lasteryear, moreover much as our perceived image/notion of a Ninja. Soft shooed and shrouded I’ll be, quieter by foot than the owl on the wing that catches the quiet as a mouse mouse. This will too be at the time of night, right in the heart of night, I’d say an equal distance twixt dawn and dusk. So you can clearly see, I see myself not being able to see well and not wanting to be seen at such an hour as I envisage I’ll be engaged in some tame yet suspect activity. Petty crime, I guess it’s petty – but that which I create will be pretty, quite choice in both font and the way it’s set. That being graffiti. Graffiti of a very different kind mind; Twi’ll have one one or more of the following by way of feeling: dismissive, impassive, curious, interested enthused and/or inspired…or downright miffed (being the owner) that your wall’s been disc..dessercra….disrespected. So to each wall a bunch of bricks and to each brick I’ll trick out with a pre-prepared stencil, prepped in the security of safetyville (my co’s art department (sorry boss if you’re snooping)). And to that stencil I’ll bespray with a tone that’ll suit its all too short subject matter – little wordbites. A masked man, his masks, his aerosol. The silence therewith broken in small bursts by the hiss of gas expelling paint. At times broken more sharply by the rattle of marble in tin.

At floor level there’ll be such aphorismic delights as:

Look up, there may be stars. Lost something? Well lose everything, then you’re free to do anything. Be mindful that dogs piss here. Concentrate too much on your vision, you’ll lose your sight.

Plenty of time, this’ll not be one night’s endeavour, too afraid to get caught in the act. Repeat journeys with repeat cans but differing stencils. The bricks above by the way hold thought provoking words that in their majority aren’t mine; those that are, well if they’re not obvious, I’ll be proud of managing to blend with those to who I defer.

Many small time crimes later and a few courses above there’ll be:

––––Don’t let your sorrow cross this line–––. Die on your feet, don’t live on your knees. Keep determination and desperation apart. When the issues build up – cancel your subscription.

And to top it,one can, with one’s can, squirt out these puppies up along the top shelf:

Over this wall be apples. Here is the height of perfection. Tonight this, but come morning I spray on aftershave like the rest. All in all this is just another brick.

 

* Former US Secretary of Defence (Defense)