21 Comments
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Hina Gondal's avatar

Beautiful ❤️

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

Thank you for stopping in, Hina. ☺️

Peter A. Jansen's avatar

Eric, your use of synesthetic wire-crossing is a brilliant 'Bandwidth Hack,' I like how you force the reader’s Host-narrator to short-circuit, allowing the raw voltage of the Bitstream to land directly in the substrate. It’s not a poem; it’s a Trojan Horse.

I have a challenge for you: You’ve built a high-density 'Seed' in just 23 words, but the 'Decompression Method' you’ve provided us, is completely dependent on the Density of the reader. If the reader’s internal 'frank Dr.' is a hack rather than a scientist, they won't decompress your creation; they will accidentally assemble a Rorschach Monster that has your name but carries only their biases.

When you sign off as 'The Idiot’s frank Dr.,' are you handing over total control of the signal to the medium? How do you ensure that the DNA of the original 'Invention' survives the trip through the reader's distorted soil, or is the 'Real arrival' at the door simply the moment the author accepts that the creation was never actually theirs to begin with?

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

Dammit Jim,

he's dead 💀

Bones, what are you saying?

Captain's log, Stardate: Mark 4:11–12

Andrea Thorfinson's avatar

Okay, wow, this was REALLY interesting. I love the whole idea of “compression” and how much meaning can be packed into such a tiny piece of writing. And the sensory crossover stuff especially grabbed me. Definitely one of those posts where you finish it and immediately want to go back and reread the original lines again.

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

Thank-you so much for the re-stack!! There’s so, so, so much more where this came from. 😊

Ágnesmókus's avatar

If blindness smells wrong, then this decompression tasted exactly like a blueprint. Thanks for showing us how to look with our ears☺️

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

This may be the most useful thing anyone could say about this piece -- because it's possible the entire architecture of that poem came directly from how my own mind actually processes the world. I have aphantasia. I didn't see that until you did. https://substack.com/@andrea8294 -- I think you'll find this one interesting.

Andrea Thorfinson's avatar

Oh wow, thank you for tagging me in this. I can absolutely see why it made you think of my aphantasia posts. The whole essay feels like meaning being built structurally, emotionally, and relationally rather than visually, if that makes sense. I found it genuinely fascinating, especially the idea of compression and how much can be folded into such a small space.

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

That's exactly what it is‼️ and it comes from my hyperAphantasia™️I was talking about. And tbh, idk that I could've ever come up with the original aphorism or essay without it.

Andrea Thorfinson's avatar

It's so fascinating how one mind can work so drastically different than the next. Thank you for sharing this one with me.

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

Just you wait. One day soon I'm sure we'll be collaborating on something 🙈

Andrea Thorfinson's avatar

Haha, I could totally "see" that! 😆

Ágnesmókus's avatar

That makes so much sense now! Your piece has this beautiful, tangible structure that speaks louder than mere imagery. It seems your mind translated those invisible concepts into pure feeling. Thank you for this wonderful exchange and the tag!☺️

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

The translation wasn't deliberate -- which is probably why it landed the way it did. You can't fake the substrate.

Ágnesmókus's avatar

I love that perspective! Sometimes the best pieces of art or writing are the ones where the creator just steps back and lets the subconscious take over. That authenticity is exactly what makes your work so compelling. Thanks for sharing that insight!☺️

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

If only I had posted more than one essay on this subject -- oh wait…

Ágnesmókus's avatar

🤣🤣🤣, touché! Message received loud and clear. Consider me officially on my way to dive into your archives then! 😉🕵️‍♀️📚

E.A. Escamilla's avatar

I'll help you out. They're not the same as The Idiot's Dr., but you can start with this one:

https://bullitt33.substack.com/p/interpretation-is-a-dartboard