Shel Graves' Sensorium

Taste: watery tart, earthy sweet Touch: sticky, tacky fingers, traces of honey and jam Sight: a crisp, puckered, angular pouch containing a yellow jewel — ground cherries, Physalis pruinosa, husk tomato; the spider makes its home within the rearview mirror, spinning just ahead of the past, making a web of the road Smell: cilantro; basil Sound: the caution tape slides along the cement hissing; he is singing underwater Extra: "Given time you'll understand. What possesses me to right (write) what you have suffered. I'm in this mood because of scorn. I'm in a mood for total war," VNV Nation, "Darkangel," Empires ; "I read your mind. But it wasn't a very interesting read. The plot was contrived. And the characters were too consumed by need," Assemblage 23 , "Pages," Contempt

Taste: salt, coconut, vinegar, chocolate; salty, nutty, sour, tang, burn, bitter Touch: a swollen, full, distended belly Sight: glossy opaque slate shimmering water; streaks of orange, urban lights; a tall, thin man in black with torn sweats, shaven head, beard and a red and black backpack; a brown and white dog hanging its head off the back of a rusted white truck, golden eyes bright, snuffling Smell: chocolate cake; unscented soap - lye Sound: "It's only when I lose myself in someone else that I find myself," Depeche Mode "It's Only When I Lose Myself"; a buzzing fly; a lapping dog Extra: Jane Goodall became a vegetarian after reading Peter Singer's Animal Liberation ; International Day of Peace , Sept. 21; diving under the waves to avoid getting pulled out to sea; swimming up to a space elevator and traveling to the 101st floor

Taste: blueberries, sweet yellow corn Touch: smooth, taut, hollow, curved: watermelon rind Sight: the saffron robes of a Thai Buddhist monk Smell: mustard, vinegar Sound: "olive rapiers," The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz Extra: "What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured." — Kurt Vonnegut