Week 6, Project One (Generative Systems): Objects of Desire and Transgression

   The found fecundity of a butterfly shape, forever modified by that magical riboflavin, is polydextrosely delicious and desired for its ability to morph.  In this case, the shape in question was found by the zephyr-like Grace Voilà, aptly nicknamed by Bosphorus Merganthum, a benefactor and friend.  The spot where Grace happened upon the striking hesperiidae is within a neighboring district known for its accumulation of ascorbic acids and glycol mono cultures—all natural and artificial flavors, of course.  Truly, there have never been a more corrosive people, and Grace loathed their pretentious and obsessive customs.  Yet the deep, angling rows of periwinkle anemones and weeping willows that this region cultivated countered any cultural malady, even if they did overly pasteurize their language. 

   Grace was intent that day to meditate on the pink princess franchise, a recent gift from Bosphorus, and a sticking point of their relationship.  She yearned to withdraw, if only for a moment, into a small mounding of hybridized roses flanked by carnauba trees laden with palm oil.  The snowflakes, jimmies, and skittles she often found there always made Grace content, and she knew that once she entered a private space she would have clarity and the presence of mind to rethink the franchise.  When Grace entered her favorite alcove, she noticed a most curious silhouette caught in a nesting of modified cornstarch and marshmallow crème glaze.  The gelatin-infused air had drawn in this winged creature, its cherry-tipped antennae attracted to the sickly sweet smells.  Grace gently rescued the arresting entity.  She felt drawn to its outline and immediately recognized a fragile psyche, one not so unlike her own.  It was a pretzel of a prize, a pretiola before fasting. 

     In that moment of recognition, the Locust Beans splayed open the protection offered by the caranauba trees with their buttery knives, exposing Grace and the butterfly.  In the distance, Grace could hear the echo of a loon cry, a warning of the deep sorrow to come in Babylon. The snowflakes, the  jimmies, and the skittles were all taken into custody by the Locust Beans, and the progenitor of dead language, that fortified Iron Candle and holy Sire of totalitarian tea and garden parties, offered only wafers of glazed cakes in memoriam, his hand forever extending over the shape of a hysteresis loop like a piece of star-fruit.

http://butterfliesofamerica.com/astraptes_palliolum_types.htm

My Process:

I first started with rummaging through our snack drawer at home and using the 3rd line of the ingredients listed. Then I took one of my daughter's cookbooks and took the last part of the directions listed for recipes that I just happened to open the book at.  My last source was a Victorian book on floriography, and I gleaned random phrases from each paragraph of one chapter. Once I typed all of these words and phrases into a Word doc (alternating them as I went), I then cut and pasted my overall find into Google translator and went through at least 6 translations (cannot remember in which order).  I took the regurgitated text and then started with some of the interesting phrases that were strung together (pink princess; magical riboflavin, Bosphorus merganthum; snowflakes, jimmies, and skittles; progenitor of dead; cherry-tipped antennae).  I started with magical riboflavin and took some of the other words in my list (modified, polydextrous, delicious, fecundity) and tried to put them together, which finally led to: The found fecundity of a butterfly shape, forever modified by that magical riboflavin, is polydextrosely delicious and desired for its ability to morph. Once I had this opening a narrative took over.  I thought I would write into a poem but a narrative arc begged to be written.  I used the generative list as my word pool, dipping in to it to try on different patterns, and then supplemented with the narrative that kept building out of the phrases I was able to string together.  I worked through many variations as the sensory appeal was a bit tricky to navigate.