10:05 Minutes

Symbolism

Lantern
To see a lantern represents the feelings and wisdom radiating from within me. These qualities serve to guide me through life’s journey.

Japan
Symbolic of realization, enlightenment, peace of mind, and tranquility.

City
Symbolic of social environment and sense of community. Tokyo Japan suggests needing to develop closer ties and relationships. I feel alienated and alone.

Street
Symbolizes my life’s path. The condition of the street reflects how much control I have over the direction of my life. To see or travel on side streets refers to a need to explore an alternative way of life.

Asia
Suggests I need to adjust to some situation. The Asian female represents an aspect of myself unknown to me.

Thunder
Hearing thunder means I need to pay attention and learn some important life lesson.

Rain
Me seeing and hearing rain falling symbolizes forgiveness and grace. Falling rain is also a metaphor for my tears, crying and sadness. Alternatively, rain also symbolizes renewal. Me hear rain tapping on the roof denotes spiritual ideas coming to fruition in my mind.

Commentary

There’s a dystopian feel to this video. Much like the 80s movie Blade Runner. The dystonic music of two different covers seemed to fit better than the original melodic Fleetwood Mac song, Dreams, and other covers mimicking its sweetness.

Dreams is a song about conflicted feelings. The soundtrack needed to sound off a bit to be right. A discord is the lack of harmony between notes sounding together. Dystonia actually refers to a “muscle cramp.” A cramp is a painful involuntary muscle contraction from fatigue or strain.

So the video soundtrack reflects my emotional cramping – an involuntary spasm. When I feel fatigued and strained, I’m susceptible to feeling emotional pain more acutely than at other times. I’ve been straining to resolve an internal puzzle.

The puzzle is resolving opposites. The apparent conflict of loneliness/solitude and needing connection to people. I’ve never felt like I belonged. I’ve often tried to conform to social or group norms to fit in. It never works. I’m an unconventional nonconformist. I abhor herd mentality. The herd being majority or group conformity. The result is me only feeling more discontent and disconnection. Cramping.

A phrase repeated in another of my video poems in titles is “my true creative power resides in my strangeness.” This originates in the video poem Black. That’s about the black unicorn a symbol of my empowerment. How do I get power from being strange? Acceptance? I rarely (never?) feeling accepted for who I am. My inner Asian female? Who am I really?

An Asian female to me is delicate, refined, and sensitive. Nothing like the gritty bull-riding cowboy of the poem Grit.

The people in the large city remind me of the frenetic ants used in my poem Connection. That is also about the polarity of coexistent needs. The need I have for solitude (polar bear) and it’s contrast to my need for emotional connection (ants). Being and feeling understood doesn’t happen in solitude.

A key phrase emphasized in the poem is “it only thunders when it’s raining.”

Storms can feel like the absolute worst. But thunder is expected during rain storms. It’s normal torment and the storm passes. But perhaps something new is retained or learned from the fear and experience. That interpretation doesn’t feel quit right. But close.

Thunder is new ideas and noticing them. Self awareness. But those lessons sometimes are only learned or manifest during my angst, affliction, and emotional pain. Sort of an emotional “Ah-ha” moment. Adversity is a powerful and memorable teacher. My adversity lately is my awareness of deep loneliness as reflected in recent poems. But it’s paradoxical. I need alone time – solitude – to charge and create. But I long for emotional connection with someone.

Web Assets

tokyo skyline night

tokyo street level

japanese women

paper lanterns japan

Soundtracks

117bpm-The Kills – Dreams (Fleetwood Mac).mp3
135bpm-Gabrielle Aplin and Bastille – Dreams (Fleetwood Mac cover).mp3

Video clips MP4

Floating Water Lanterns at SkyLanterns.us.mp4
Japanese lantern ritual on Hirose River, Sendai.mp4
Lanterns floating (ToroNagashi) at Peace Ceremony in Hiroshima.mp4
tokyo-downtown.mp4
The beautiful Chiyoda City Lantern Festival.mp4

sound effects

Rain-Pwlae-390675481.mp3
thunder_strike_2-Mike_Koenig-2099467696.mp3
weather_thunder_rain_light_003.mp3

transparent PNG titles

freedom1.png
freedom-red.png
listen-red.png
listen-white.png
loneliness-red.png
loneliness-white.png
thunder-red.png
thunder-white.png
video-montage-credit.png
visions-red.png
visions-white.png