he was intrigued

tabula rasa 

                    and imagined that it was that thing that appeared on the television screen after midnight 

at the end of broadcasting day when television stations signed off  

“. . this is the Seal of Good Practice . . We at Channel 2 are subscribers to the National Association of Broadcasters . . assur(ing) you of the high standards for the television programs designed to entertain and inform you . .” 

                                              then  a Native American Indians head  --  it seemed an odd choice for a lingering test pattern  --  appeared   then  behind it played the United States National Anthem 

   

                                                                                  which seemed an even odder choice

he wondered  occurring together  if they poked a stick in the eye of Native Americans or if it subtly documented an emerging sense of entitlement that the Republic wolfed down with its sugar-coated cereal or bacon and eggs and toast for breakfast or was otherwise  a wiseguys testament to a lively sense of irony  or its black polished patent leather humor

they threw him for a loop 

                                          while no one bothered to hold the end of the lasso or tie it off

                                                                                                                

at the conclusion of the National Anthem his favorite part ensued     the tabula rasa

the music stopped

the Indian head test pattern held

then soon    a piercing high-frequency radio tone sounded   utterly fascinating him

Radio   Television   were conjoined fraternal twins or a twinheaded monster

he didnt know that a good portion of what he saw on television then was repurposed and once upon a time radio shows

                                         the Philco television his family stoically watched  --  a hand-me-down from an affluent uncle  --  was built inside what seemed a yesteryear wooden radio cabinet   its small television screen  the actors appearing on it  were enlarged by a magnifying glass suspended in front of the screen

 

under the rabid tone a granular gray noise spazzed onto the screen  sparkling then deficient  which  if he watched  concentrated on it long enough  something inevitably emerged

and away they run together  shedding feathers behind them with a happy abandon and recklessness

their bonds and physicality the planets physics stubbornly attempted to deny

and try as he may  assured the planet was female  he couldnt cajole tempt or seduce her to forego the arranged marriage she so energetically  tirelessly  served   seemingly without a braid of joy

or perhaps she was a seasoned actress who wore warpaint redolent of a brave

they glared and stood across from one another at loggerheads

without another choice he defied her

he danced with the buzzing black and white pixels the mad crowding hive through the fractures and cracks of what seemed was a hard durable face 

the clean slate

though nothing ever shapes up  clean

its touched and fingered

if one looked hard enough it exhibited whorls and arches  bifurcations and divergences

and as with a babes eyes   once their eyes were able to focus

one would be a fool to imagine that inside them     it was snowdrifted

                                                           a pale bluewhite innocence looking back at you

hed been there once   and wondered 

                                                            What are you looking at

the tabula rasa might be nothing more than polished glass

 

1600-ish,  Twosday,  3  2. 15