I think I Only Have Eyes For You may be the most underrated episode of BTVS. The ghost story is excellent and the big switcheroo at the end of the episode is so poignant. It’s kind of the ideal Buffy episode. Simultaneously a great monster of the week episode and a great character beat in Buffy’s journey to get over angel.
This was September last year for me and I haven’t come even close since then.
I finished this recently and found it life changing in a number of aspects. I’m reading Hesse’s Demian now and I’m left thinking about a specific scene in Steppenwolf. Towards the end of the book when Hermine and Harry are at the ball, and she’s dressed as a man, the two of them both flirt with and dance with the women at the ball, all while still being in sync with each other. While dressed as a man she resembles, almost exactly, his childhood friend Herman for whom he had a love that it’s clear even he doesn’t understand. He describes himself and Hermine, and I’m paraphrasing, as hunting together. It’s this beautiful sequence that to me acts as a cipher for the rest of the book and his work at large. All of his work is attempting to have this moment. Past, future, man, woman, human and beast in one synchronized dance, attempting to feel something.
What a book.
I flicked fire at Poseidon today
He laughed, of course
But I, stalwart, tried again
His laugh waned, smile grew tighter
I kept trying, my flame against the ocean
He stared at me, now, perplexed
I jabbered, calming words, reverent
Annoyed, He withdrew my providence
I conceded and retreated, head low
He whistled and roared, boastful
I made some pretense of unfeeling
The fog subsided a little, the dust died down
And in secret I tried the fire again
Poseidon didn’t hear, but the Ocean did
The fire didn’t start but why should it have
The spark can only go as far as I
I stare down the shadow of the whale
For I was ordered to go to Nineveh
And to Nineveh I did not go
And so there can be no ash
For ash will follow the flame
Flame will follow the spark
The spark will follow me
And I will follow the foam
The foam will follow the wind, of course
Proof 1:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/FrOZGcW8fp
Proof 2:
Your socks
My phone
My fathers keys
My sisters scarf
I’ve often blamed gnomes
But the truth is I’m careless
But then, we all lose things
Can we all be careless?
I dropped my glasses
In the grass
In the trash
In the river
Somehow, I always found them
But what of the things I didn’t?
Where are your missing socks
What became of the boy I used to be?
And on that note where did that girl go?
I often wish they’d return
Like the glasses; Returned by providence
God smiling on us
I am going to go looking for that boy
Thankfully I have my glasses
I hope my dad finds his keys
I hope you find your socks
Proof 1:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/6yDNrpxg4G
Proof 2:
I flicked fire at Poseidon today
He laughed, of course
But I, stalwart, tried again
His laugh waned, smile grew tighter
I kept trying, my flame against the ocean
He stared at me, now, perplexed
I jabbered, calming words, reverent
Annoyed, He withdrew my providence
I conceded and retreated, head low
He whistled and roared, boastful
I made some pretense of unfeeling
The fog subsided a little, the dust died down
And in secret I tried the fire again
Poseidon didn’t hear, but the Ocean did
The fire didn’t start but why should it have
The spark can only go as far as I
I stare down the shadow of the whale
For I was ordered to go to Nineveh
And to Nineveh I did not go
And so there can be no ash
For ash will follow the flame
Flame will follow the spark
The spark will follow me
And I will follow the foam
The foam will follow the wind, of course
Proof 1:
https://www.reddit.com/r/OCPoetry/s/FrOZGcW8fp
Proof 2:
Is it possible for a movie to be both a pleasant surprise and a disappointment simultaneously?
I found it life changing, and I’m excited for the first time in a while and looking for related readings. I am not expecting every recommendation to be life changing but I certainly am looking for things in that spiritual, psychological and emotional vein.
I’ve got a few on deck that should be at least somewhat related, plus I was planning on reading more of Hesse generally.
On Deck:
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
4:48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane
Is a River Alive? By Robert McFarlane
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Leguin
Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali
I found it life changing, and I’m looking for related readings. I am not expecting every recommendation to be life changing but I certainly am looking for things in that spiritual, psychological and emotional vein.
I’ve got a few on deck that should be at least somewhat related, plus I was planning on reading more of Hesse generally.
On Deck:
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
4:48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane
Is a River Alive? By Robert McFarlane
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Leguin
Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali
I found it life changing, and I’m looking for related readings. I am not expecting every recommendation to be life changing but I certainly am looking for things in that spiritual, psychological and emotional vein.
I’ve got a few on deck that should be at least somewhat related, plus I was planning on reading more of Hesse generally.
On Deck:
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
4:48 Psychosis by Sarah Kane
Is a River Alive? By Robert McFarlane
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Leguin
Madonna in a Fur Coat by Sabahattin Ali