Riverside II

Alex is by the river, relaxing. The river is music.

There is a lot of music. There is much more music than noise.

There are a lot of different types of musical instruments. Sometimes, as for example with electric guitars, there are a lot of one type of musical instrument. It is not out of the question there are more electric guitars than all other types of musical instruments combined, including acoustic guitars.

Some ugly things make beautiful music. Some exceedingly beautiful things make exceedingly ugly music. Some ugly things are consigned to silence. Some beautiful things are consigned to silence.

A river snake glided along among the reeds behind Alex’s back. Alex’s focus, if Alex could be said to have a focus, a dawdling focus, was on the musical glints of each ray of sun off the tiny riffles of the surface of the rapids of the river.

The river snake and Alex were frenemies. The river snake had to keep an eye on Alex, and Alex had to keep an eye on the river snake.

The river snake insinuated,

“If you were boating this river, headed downstream, the rapid current would be most welcome, as you, paddling less, could relax, and get a free ride, so to speak.”

“If you were boating this river, headed upstream, the rapid current would be a vexation. The rapid current would be deep emotional distress, torment, irritation, a crushing futility.”

Same music, silently insinuated the river snake’s whispering flickering tongue, into the labyrinths of the swamp rat’s ear.

Alex had eaten at least fifteen river snakes. He liked the taste– a lot like chicken. He had that way of seizing the snake “by the throat”, just behind the skull, and then getting the satisfying severing crunch of cervical vertebrae, devastating.

Alex had never been bitten by a river snake. Testament to this was Alex still being alive. One river snake bite and Alex would die. Of this, Alex and the river snake were always keenly aware.

Alex is tone deaf, moan deaf, mumble deaf, and gurgle deaf. For this Alex, unable to play cornet or any other musical instrument, unable, except for one musclical instrument, to toodle or doodle, or dream, have a dream. Deaf and, yes, dumb. Dumb and dumbest. Dim to the senses, to the finest music, to the revival life — does Alex feel? Deaf and dumb, but to command?

Frenemies because they turn on each other. Frenemies because they turn each other on. One little snake bite so Alex would feel his deafness, his stupidity? Silent, numbed, stealthy, and deathly.