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s u b v e r s i v e l i t e r a t u r e f o r
s u b v e r t e d p e o p l e
j a n u a r y 2 0 t h , 2 0 0 2
e d i t o r - b m c
- - - - ----==={ I N S T A L L M E N T 1 8 6 }===---- - - - -
w r i t e r s :
h e c k a t
b m c
- - - - ----==={ F E A T U R E S }===---- - - - -
Anatomy of Crow/ Dissecting Crow
by Heckat
The Sin of Boastfulness
written by Gower
translated by BMC
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e d i t o r ' s n o t e
- - - - ---==={PLEASE DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING!}===--- - - - -
Today it was requested of me that I write 4000 words on the concept of
socialism. What an odd request, isn't it? It sounds a bit too much like
work for my liking. Maybe I'll do it the next time I have a week free.
I think I've got a holiday coming up in 2005. But for now, I'll say ten
words on socialism.
Socialism in the house! Word. Say socialism what what? Jeah.
That leaves 3990 words.
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ANATOMY OF CROW/ DISSECTING CROW
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beak:
imagine a fishhook, a sickled
hunting blade, a razor's edge stained
black with blood, a limb, a plier,
a wrench for getting things out of
tight places, a thin, lipless maw that
speaks flat notes into the wind
remove it. use it as a claw,
as a hinge to fasten the door on your
two-year-old's playhouse,
use it as a second mouth to swallow
all those dead things you've been
avoiding to clean up
tongue:
another animal, a snake,
lives in crow's mouth
its wet surface is a mirror
reflecting the ugliest parts of
the world back on itself
once rootless, it lies harmless
use it as bait to catch fish
eyes:
orbs distinguished by their absenses
(no eggshell whites
licking the corner of his lid,
no irises capping a coloured
ring around the pupil's abyss)
they could be raisins, or deep pools
of liquid, or planets, or the charcoal
set of marbles you carried around
in your pocket as an eight-year-old child
only maybe there isn't anything there at all
just two shadows shielding crow skeleton
from scavengers
wing:
navigational device, "wheels,"
the quickest way out of here
only a pair will do
coat of black feathers (use those to
make a boa for your niece's birthday gift)
small, brittle bones remembering flight
feet:
textured roots, claws, the way
crow clings to the branches
of trees and digs in
are these the worst parts of crow?
his dirty, scratching toes?
crow leaves footprints on our skin,
marks his pacing beside our eyes
our faces learn to reflect a lifetime
of living with crow
epilogue:
crow's tender parts
make tasty delicacies - the neck,
the heart, the liver - serve
him at dinner parties
as an appetizer
the rest of him can be used
in magic potions (turn you to
stone, make you fall in love,
split your tail in half to make
legs) or can quite nicely be
used in pie
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THE SIN OF BOASTFULNESS
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John Gower: Confessio Amantis (1) (1) Confessio Amantis'
First Book is dedicated
to the sin of pride.
Magniloque propriam minuit iactancia lingue This book has five
Famam, quam stabilem firmat honore cilens. sections, each being
Ipse sui laudem meriti non percipit, unde dedicated to a subsidiary
Se sua per verba iactat in orbe palam. of that sin. The
Estqeu viri culpa iactancia, que rubefactas following excerpt is a
In muliere reas causat habere genas. (2) translation of the fourth
section of the First Book,
which is dedicated to the
Confessor: The vice known as "bragging" is vice of boastfulness.
closely related to pride (3), and a man
diminishes his peers' approval of him if he is (2) These Latin verses are
unable to refrain from singing his own praises; translated in A Book of
what is first well becomes amiss, the Middle English as "The
thankworthy man becomes the recipient of blame. boastfulness of a bragging
By praising his own name through bragging, a tongue lessens a man's own
man does not build up his reputation but tears proper reputation, whereas
it up. I tell you, when this proud vice sends by silence he confirms his
out wind of a man's virtue, it blows too true distinction. Not
heavily; fame should be something that grows hearing from others the
naturally. And there are lovers who are like praise that he deserves,
that. If you are one of them, you should tell he glorifies himself in
me about it. For example, when you have taken his own words before the
any gift of love, such as a brooch or ring, to world. In the male,
brighten your day, or when you received a moreover, boasting is a
compliment or look or token or letter that made fault, since in the woman
you happy, or she sent a greeting, have you let it causes guilty cheeks to
your pride get the better of you and bragged blush."
about it?
(3) Pride: one of the
Amans: Father, please know that I'm not guilty Seven Deadly Sins -
of this. My poor heart, I've never received so committing a deadly sin is
much as a message saying "hi" from her. In considered to be a serious
other words, I've got nothing to brag about. infraction of Christian
Even if I did brag about it, it would just be a religious code.
lie. I don't know what I would do if I did have
something to brag about, as you have said many
men have, but I've never had a reason to brag.
Except, of course, for being rejected by her,
which nearly killed me - I can say something
about that, but that's it. Therefore I don't
need to repent. Now let's talk about something
else - I'm not guilty of this.
Confessor: My son, Love hates this vice above
all others, and it should be avoided for that
reason. Boasting is to be despised in general.
I will give you an example - here is a story:
Ahem.
The first king of Lombardy, Albinus, was a
great warrior who battled against many other
kings. Once he fought a war against Gurmonde,
who was the mighty king of the Gepidi; but not
mighty enough to prevent Albinus from
slaughtering him in the field. Neither sword
nor shield could save Gurmonde from getting his
head cut off. Albinus decapitated him, took
the top of his skull - the brain-pan - and
decided to make a cup out of it as a symbol of
his victory in battle.
After Albinus had won the battle and taken
control of the land, claiming it as his own, he
discovered Gurmonde's daughter. She was the
Maiden Rosemounde, renowned for her beauty,
youth, and liveliness. Albinus fell in love
with her immediately, pursued her hotly, and
eventually they were wedded. From this point
forward they stayed together, deeply in love
with one another. But, when they were at the
highest point of love, Venus turned the wheel
of fortune so they fell.
Listen - the king had many things: wealth,
worship, health, and a peaceful rule, and no
enemies; life seemed perfect. He decided to
host a festival for Rosemounde's benefit, so
that she could be introduced to all of the
lords who served under his rule. The king
ordered his servants to quickly send out
letters and dispatch messengers, and to get
everything ready for the festival. The king's
royal horses were trained for jousting and
tournament, and garments embroidered with
pearls were prepared for the big event.
When the time came, the lords arrived all
dressed their best. They battled for
superiority in jousting and fighting in
tournaments of combat. The lords had a great
time and forgot their worries.
After the games, they came into the king's hall
for a feast. The knights were seated and
served in order of superiority, and then prizes
were given out as the heralds announced the
victors of the games. After this, knights at
the high tables and at the low tables began to
speak of pursuits of war and of love, and
everyone had something to add to the
conversation.
Their cheer affected the king in such a way
that he began to dwell on his own conquest
until he was overwhelmed with pride. He
looked over and saw the cup off to the side,
the cup he had made out of Gurmonde's head
(as you have heard) after he killed him. The
brain-pan, as it were, had been layered in gold
and set with large gems. It was well-crafted
and stood on a base of polished gold. The cup
was engraved in the most masterful way and
freshly polished as well. One could not have
identified it as a skull at all, but would
rather have thought it to be a griffin's
egg (4). (4) Griffin's Egg: a
goblet made by coating a
The king ordered for his current cup to be large egg with thick gold.
taken away - "...and fetch me that one," he
said. On his command, the skull was fetched
and filled with wine. So he asked Rosemounde
to begin the feast with a toast. "Drink with
thy father, dame," he said, and she did as he
requested. She happily lifted the skull from
the table and drank, having no idea what sort
of cup it was that she was drinking from. And
then all out, the king announced to everyone
that Rosemounde was drinking from her father's
skull. He did this to demonstrate his feat of
battle to the lords, and also to brag about how
he had won the love of the girl whose life
began in that same skull.
The room was saturated with the king's pride as
everyone talked about it, but Rosemounde
remained silent, thinking about the unkind
pride that made the king boast that he had
killed her father, carved out his brain, made a
goblet from his skull, and tricked her into
drinking from it. She remained calm until
dinner was over; then, she pretended she was
ill. When she got to her chamber, she spoke
with her trustworthy maid and let her know what
was the matter, on the condition that the maid
wouldn't tell anybody.
The queen promised to give her maid, Glodeside,
wealth and fame in exchange for her help.
Glodeside was to help avenge the queen upon the
king, who caused her to drink in this manner
(among the noblemen, as insult to both
Rosemounde and her father). Rosemounde was so
furious about it that she determined she could
never be happy until she could be certain that
he would not be able to boast in such a way
ever again.
And so the queen and Glodeside came to an
agreement, finally deciding on a plan. They
determined that they must get some valiant
knight to help them kill the king. With this
in mind, they began to consider how they could
recruit Helmege into their scheme. Helmege was
the king's wine bottler (5), a proud and lively (5) Wine Bottler:
young knight who was passionately in love with translated from the Middle
Glodeside. English "boteler," meaning
the court officer in
To make Helmege fall more deeply in love, charge of the royal wine.
Glodeside granted her love to him. They A Book of Middle English
planned to meet in Helmege's room to make true converts this word to
love, and so it was done later that night. "butler." However, I have
The next night the queen went in Glodeside's chosen the word "bottler"
place, entered the dark room, and made true to avoid an anachronistic
love with Helmege. In keeping with the code reading of the term. At
of chivalry, Helmege pledged eternal obedience any rate, this term should
to his lover (believing the queen to be deter the reader's faulty
Glodeside). And afterward, the queen lay at observation that "the
Helmege's side and told him who she really was butler did it."
and what he must do for her.
She said, "Helmege, I am thy queen, and now
thy love shall be proved. For the one on whom
you have wrought your will you shall repay,
either by punishment and torture or by carrying
out the deed I wish you to commit. And if you
will, do as I desire and keep it secret, for
ever after I shall be at your will - I and all
I possess."
Helmage had fallen into a wild rage of love,
which no man can control. He was unable to
resist, and he agreed to follow the queen's
orders. And so the wheel of fortune had spun
awry, and there was no longer any chance that
things would work out.
The conspirators planned a scheme that was so
brilliantly cunning that the king was dead
within awhile; however, it was not quite so
cunning that they could get away with it. So
they considered their options: either to flee
or get caught. They packed up the king's royal
treasury (and many other things), assembled an
entourage, and fled by ship.
From that point, they sailed straight until
they came to Ravenna where they asked the duke
for his help. The duke abided by their wishes,
giving them a place to stay, but when he heard
what they had done he prepared some poison for
them. They drank it, and got what they
deserved - death. And all of this was the
result of proud boasting.
Therefore, a man is better off not to assess
himself on behalf of others. Doing so may
easily tarnish his reputation. Don't brag
about your conquests. A man who tries to make
a name for himself in order to become known for
deeds of war or love will always fail due to
bragging. In conquest that is fought either
with weapons or for love, a man must restrain
his loose tongue, or, like a key, it will
unlock him.
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The Neo-Comintern Magazine / Online Magazine is seeking submissions.
Unpublished stories and articles of an unusual, experimental, or
anti-capitalist nature are wanted. Contributors are encouraged to
submit works incorporating any or all of the following: Musings, Delvings
into Philosophy, Flights of Fancy, Freefall Selections, and Tales of
General Mirth. The more creative and astray from the norm, the better.
For examples of typical Neo-Comintern writing, see our website at
<http://www.neo-comintern.com>.
Submissions of 25-4000 words are wanted; the average article length is
approximately 200-1000 words. Send submissions via email attachment to
<bmc@neo-comintern.com>, or through ICQ to #29981964.
Contributors will receive copies of the most recent print issue of The
Neo-Comintern; works of any length and type will be considered for
publication in The Neo-Comintern Online Magazine and/or The Neo-Comintern
Magazine.
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c o p y r i g h t 2 0 0 2 b y #186-01/20/02
t h e n e o - c o m i n t e r n
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