Saffron and Nova: Beyond Myths and Stars

By David Washington

Poetry has been considered by some as the language by which a union may be forged between the right and left hemispheres of the human brain. Saffron and Nova: Beyond Myths and Stars allegorizes this hypothesis in the form of a sonnet sequence. Its 104 sonnets are a verse drama relating the 'romance of the spheres' in my own life and search for ultimate meaning. The rhyme scheme generally follows that of Alexander Pushkin's Eugene Onegin which is: ababccddeffegg. Variations to this scheme are made to meet the demands of the story told both in narration and dialogue.
The story unfolds through the eyes of the narrator whose daughter, Nova, an actor is attacked by a career threatening case of stage fright. Saffron is a poet/therapist from whom she, in desperation seeks help. The account though at certain points is roughly autobiographical, takes place mostly in the mind of the author.

• Language: English
• Publisher: David Washington
• Release date: May 31, 2021
• ISBN: 9789769579279

David Washington

David Washington holds a B. A. degree in Psychology and M. A. degree in Anthropology, the interface of culture and personality being the focus of his research and study. Throughout the years he has pursued a persistent interest, both as a writer and self-help enthusiast, in the efficacy of literature as an agent of personal development. His literature therapy publications are an outgrowth of this enthusiasm and an interest as a writer in art as for something more than its own sake.

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SAFFRON and NOVA:

Beyond Myths and Stars

By

David Washington

SAFFRON AND NOVA:

Beyond Myths and Stars

By

David Washington

© David Washington, 2019. All rights are reserved by the author.

U. S. Copyright Registration Number: Txu002185308

Effective Date: 2/13/2020

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published by Washington Hites Publishers.

P. O. Box 135, Dangriga, Belize, Central America.

ISBN: 978-976-95792-7-9

EAN: 9789769579279

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Prelude

Dramatis Personae

First Movement

Second Movement

Interlude

Third Movement

Forth Movement

Epilogue

Postlude

About the Author

Connect with me

Prologue

Coming of age

Coming of age can be a long, drawn-out affair,

The great big forever day of childhood stretching,

Well beyond the years one should already be there.

Lost forever is the time spent in dreams lingering.

The realization of a precious gift being thrown away,

Is a rude awakening from that great big forever day.

Suddenly arrives the hour to give an account

Of a misspent youth, past impossible to recount.

The time wasted begs for an atoning explanation,

A satisfying narrative of how things came about,

Or a tale told to white-wash being found out?

Judge for yourself if mine be an adequate expiation.

Aaaaaaand so, here I go,

Head heavy, heart aglow.

II

To begin at the beginning

To begin at the beginning would mean

To begin at the point I finally woke up

To an empty, pointless worldly scene,

Just before my first 21 years were up.

From then onward I would explore

The subconscious regions for more,

To go on than what I had yet found,

To be reason enough to stick around.

In April, 1970, a time much on the run,

A real game changer spurred by action

Upon my consciousness, given traction,

By my absorption in a paper to get done.

My psychology research that spring break

Gave rise to this existential earthquake.

III

To be

To be, what to be and how,

Weighed heavily on my mind.

In the wings, with furrowed brow,

My lines I thought hard to find.

Sticking to the plot of my true story,

My findings I will relate in an allegory.

A much tried mode in itself, it’s true,

Adopted to try to get through to you.

A failure to communicate in this case,

And be misunderstood, as often occurs,

Breaks two hearts, both his and hers.

Properly understood I avoid disgrace.

For being, knowing what to be and how,

Has been a lifelong quest, up to now.

IV

A near-life experience

The aforementioned action upon my psyche,

A near-life experience, being my description.

Referencing ‘near-death’, I express the degree

Of spontaneous decoding of mental encryption.

The invention of this terminology, in one stroke,

Encrypted the ecstasy so as to henceforth invoke,

A taste of the memory-feel of healed emotional scars,

And freedom from racist myths to pursue the stars.

For the things which most of us enslave,

Arise in the early mismanagement of inborn anxiety,

In dysfunctional circumstances of family and society,

Along with, of course, fear of the grave.

I conceived ‘near-life’ as a freedom shout.

That, at least, is what it