MOOD INDIGO

Photo/Collage by S. Auberle

It all began with a train whistle. And the Blue
Woman dream. If there were Academy Awards
for dreams, I would definitely be a serious
contender. This one, however, was quite short,
just a scene of a woman in front of a mirror,
painting her face blue. She seemed happy, very
into it, and she stopped and looked at me for awhile,
as if to say why don't you try this?

At that point I awoke, heard a train whistle, that
bluest of all sounds in the night, and sleep was gone.
I lay there, listening to the train, thought of
Billie Holiday, Hank Williams, that beautiful blue
god, Krishna, and the words to Mood Indigo, which
of course, I didn't know--other than:
You ain't been blue, no, no, no,
till you've had that mood indigo.

While I was not in an indigo mood at that time,
blue has been on my mind since. And then I went
to see the Blue Man Group. What a trip that is--if
you've not seen them, it's certainly something to
do once in your lifetime. As a friend remarked,
you can leave your drugs at home--what a treat
for the senses! I won't spoil it for you by going into
any detail, but I think they're onto something. I'm
just not sure what it is.

Question: how many of you writers/artists out
there regularly use your dreams as a rich source
of inspiration? And might it be, do you think, the
most authentic muse of all?

My blue muse continues to haunt me, though I don't
feel her inspiration has come through yet. Just stay
tuned, and be prepared for lots of blue.

"There is only one valuable thing in art, the thing
you cannot explain."
- George Braque

- mimi