A Degree Of Intensity

When a thing appears as a degree of intensity, we have nothing else than the existence of the thing in a world. Alain Badiou Contemporary philosopher Time gripped me first, held me tightly, then tumbled me across Space. Time was just a smoky haze, circulating around everything. Space was a viscous vortex, spinning in a tight circle, like a mountain drilling itself into a planet. Suddenly, the spinning stopped, and Space stretched out, stretched before me, behind me, above and below me... And Time was everywhere For ages I was part of every- thing. My face was morning light. My eyes were the last stars to fade, and the first to ignite. My torso was a hill thrust against the bank of a swift-flowing river. My brain was the motion of river currents. My sex, still a mystery to me, was the sap rushing up the tree trunk, along the branches, and permeating the leaves which stiffen in green health. My heart was the growth of sweet flowers. But how these things became me is a story hidden from me. I dimly recall my soul being placed near my heart. The weight of it made me stumble. I fell into black loam. I recovered my strength, heaved myself up, and stood poised and tall. I've grown accustomed to that soul- weight. Gradually, I sensed the luster it spread through my body... It is not a brightness like day. It is nothing like a sun- rise flooding a deep valley. It is the brightest shadow, it is the dark- est light... My soul led me to this world made for me. and I for it. My walks are frequent now. I traipse across my world and enter other worlds. I have met and claimed six others as my friends. We talk for hours as the sun slants toward its night realm. I stay the night in my friends' world. We never argue, we love and laugh together. But can it be some peril stalks us? As I was walking along my familiar path, I suddenly felt dizzy and pitched forward. Rocks smashed my head. For an hour I was without awareness. It was not like sleep. It was a blankness. When I awoke, I carried within my soul fear of that place. It was terrifying to be NOTHING again... If I sleep, truly sleep, will I dream the whole of it again?