March 9, 2001
"To let each impression and each germ of a feeling come to completion wholly in itself, in the dark, in the inexpressible, the unconscious, beyond the reach of one's own intelligence and await with humility and patience the birth-hour of a new clarity."

Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet
Dream images

Teacups with saucers
You can't go looking for water unless you have a container. So I go looking for a container.

What we know about these teacups:

they are stacked on an open shelf, chest-high
each has a saucer
maybe fifty of them
some have color, but subdued designs
some have stripes
mostly white
mostly uniform
mostly extremely shallow
they would only hold one or two swallows

I try to handle these teacups. When I touch the set of cup and saucer at the top of the stack, the whole stack becomes unbalanced and jitters sideways into the next stack. Somehow I avoid a domino effect and manage to stabilize the stacks.

The teacups are charming. Do you collect teacups? I collect teapots.

Teapots are more stable and hold more liquid.
Teapots are deep, teacups are shallow.
Teapots are enclosed, central, warm, and seem more fragrant.
Teapots are more securely attached to their lids than teacups are attached to their saucers.
Teapots hide the tea, protect the tea while it's young.
Teapots shelter the tea, while teacups display the tea and let it get cold.
Oh the tea gets cold no matter what.

I reject the teacups. I'm really hungry and really thirsty, but they are just too unstable. And too shallow.

They are just too shallow. I'm so thirsty I'm going to need a bigger container. Delayed gratification in dream imagery.