Virtual Path of Creation (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: Another experiment. ^_^]

I wanted to send a girl character who had

          long                             gingery hair

                 oversized glasses

                    named Alicia

               on a chase sequence  

                    up to the very

                            top of

                            a lofty

                        clocktower

                          to ring its

                       magical bells

                      while pursued

               by an enormous version       

                   of a hummingbird—

             Except the lockdown kept me

                  unable to venture too far

             from my humble home to visit

             any clocktowers in person and…

                                  besides…

                          I could only catch

                                       brief glances

                                  of any hummingbirds

                                            as they darted past

                                                my bedroom window…

So…

    I watched videos of tours within several clocktowers

                   from around the world

                                and chose to have Alicia scale

                                             a narrow

                                      wooden

                                      staircase

                                                        which spiraled

                                      upwards

                                        just like

                                                         the one found

                                                            beneath

                                         Big Ben

                                       in London       

                                    then added in windows

                              through which she could glimpse

                         the late-night city that surrounded her

                                   aglow with lights from

                                         various businesses

                                                and homes

                                                  but also

                                               the hummingbird…

I searched online for lists of hummingbirds

            and came across one from Peru

            known as the “Marvellous Spatuletail”

                        with feathers of white

                                                      green

                                             and bronze

                               completed by a gorget

                                  (a colored patch at the throat)

                                                     of turquoise

                            further distinguished

                                      by two peacock-like tail feathers

                                                     which each twisted

                                                                   outwards

                                                         to the right or left

                         whose wings buzzed

                                     like book pages flipped

                                          in high-speed succession

                                                 (as I had heard

                                                            on a recording

                                                        shared through a website

                                                                 related to wildlife conservation)

                                as this gigantic bird moved

                                              with aerodynamic jerks

                                    (shown on a wildlife documentary)

                                                       through the air

                                                 from one window

                                            of the clocktower

                                                    to the next

                                        and stuck a thin

                                                       hard beak

                                              that broke the glass

                                                  just seconds

                                          after Alicia

                                     hurried past

     Up Alicia ran

              faster and faster

           her breath came

                       in quick pants

                   and her boots thudded

                             on each step

   Sometimes           she almost stumbled

                when the handrail

                   became like a companion

                          able to guide her along

                                 until

                              she reached the belfry

                         (the name of which I had found

                                  in a book diagram of

                                           clocktower parts)

                  there to find three large silver bells

                              held by yokes

                         which had engraved

                                   on the largest part

                                       of their bodies

                                        (called the “waist”)

                                  the words “A Sweet Bell

                                                           of Healing”

The giant hummingbird appeared      

          just beyond the opaque clockface

                          ominous and dark

                    as Alicia slipped a hand

                                  into the pocket

                                       of her pants

                          and pulled out a golden watch

                                      which matched

                                            the clocktower—

                                                      12:00.

Gears turned and the yokes swung

              their bells similar

                        to children

                              on swings

                   the clappers

                                those miniature hammers

                          struck the inside rims

                                        of the bells

                               and the deep gongs

                          echoed in

                                      soundwaves

                               that caused the hummingbird

                                            to shudder

                                          in violent waves        

                                               but then

                                               to shrink

                                                 smaller

                                                    and

                                                  smaller

Her mission fulfilled

             Alicia collapsed

                               upon the floor

                          as the sounds of the bells

                                         faded—

 However             she would awaken

                             at dawn

                     to the sight of a tiny hummingbird

                                     so grateful for the rescue

                                             he would follow Alicia

                                                     as a companion

                                                         on her journey        

                                                    wherever she might

                                                              venture next