Duende Beneath the Writing Desk
09 Thursday Aug 2012
Written by Nicole Rushin in Dream Poetry, Dreams, Journaling, The Creative Process
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“The language of storytelling and poetry is the powerful sister of the dream language…there appears to be within the psyche a poetry-making and art-making function that arises when a person spontaneously or purposefully ventures near the instinctive core of the psyche.“ from Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Ph.D. / Woman Who Run With the Wolves
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Journaling / Photo Prompt
August 2012
I was sitting in the potting shed reading, snapping pictures of sunlight and scribbling margin notes in my copy of Women Who Run With the Wolves when I came across this word, Duende /do͞oˈendā/, the goblin spirit behind passion, or beauty, art or the dance, or of life. It also means the power to attract through personal magnetism and charm.
I looked up just as one streaked across the floor…
Goblins, spirits, dreams
And words are like this -Duende
They come in a flash
Under the chair – under the desk
Needle pricks of tinsel swords
Biting fangs
Unkempt nails that drag
And scrape
Through mud and feast
On the entrails of worms
We never want to see these things.
We never want to admit to the things that go on beneath the writing desk.
The things that graze our feet tenderly as we think.
No poet, writer or artist can resist the charm of the Duende Spirit.
We are called into the beneath for many things
To claim our colors – azure
A shade apart from purple or blue
A tincture of moonlight perhaps
We are given ladders – maps
Bean-stalks that wrap through our dreams
There is nothing wrong with you. There is nothing wrong with me. And nothing gruesome about the Duende at your feet. It is much like the story of the Ugly Duckling. If you follow him into his world you will see he has wings, white feathers and the neck of an S.
Thomas Moore had this to say in his book Original Self,
“The soul is lost in our everyday lives whenever we try to force ourselves to fit some norm of health or correctness. When the ever-creative soul is allowed to rise up from the deep reservoir of life that is its home, we become unpredictable and not easily squeezed into the narrow expectations of what a person should be…”
I wonder how completely you believe in your dream?
I wonder if you can love that thing once perceived as ugliness?
Society tends to see the different as being bad, wrong or ugly.
And another excerpt from Thomas Moore.
“One important aspect of finding one’s original core is the realization that the deeper one goes into the self, the more poetic one’s language and ideas become.”
And if I am all things in my dream then I am all things in my reality. Life begins in the dreamworld, in the beneath. It is not the other way around. And if at once I believed the Duende was something outside of me, something ugly, something unknown, now I know he is me. Come forth to feed me poetry and dreams.
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12 comments
August 10, 2012 at 6:57 AM
My Duende is always with me, sometimes roaring, sometimes a silent whisper, demanding to be released. Your passion was released and expressed beautifully. Paulette
August 10, 2012 at 10:23 AM
Hi Paulette,
Thanks so much. ‘Demanding to be released’ is a good way to say it. We cannot be afraid of our inner self, or what lies beneath even though it may at first appear strange or ugly.
Nicole~
August 10, 2012 at 8:38 AM
Such a beautiful word! It sounds just like music, I like the rhythm of the word…duende…it feels really good to pronounce it.
August 10, 2012 at 10:21 AM
Hi Viki,
The word does have a lot to do with music. One definition explained it as the chills you get when you hear great music.
Nicole~
August 10, 2012 at 10:06 AM
I like to think I am DUENDE….you taught me SATORI and now DUENDE – thank you for being my teacher today my friend Nicole – you know I love your poetry and when I read your poetry my mind dances, follows, and dances some more…..all the way to my soul….
Love your writing and yes life begins in the dream world……I did dream last night – I haven’t dreamt in a while since I moved into this new place. I dreamt of parachutes – side by side parachutes –
In the DUENDE in all of us,
Nancy
August 10, 2012 at 10:20 AM
Parachutes? Haw fascinating. I hope they opened at the right time. Not too soon or too late. I hope it was a gentle safe landing.
Nicole~
August 10, 2012 at 12:50 PM
Nicole, I love this!!! It hits right to the core of what I’ve learned these last few weeks. I love the word “Duende” — it’s so rich and delicious.
August 10, 2012 at 1:19 PM
I remember you mentioning about ‘your being different’ in your dream in the Facebook group. I guess we are all embracing this side of ourselves. Honoring our strangeness, weirdness and the things that make us stand out. Beautiful!
Nicole~
August 10, 2012 at 4:39 PM
Thanks Nicole. I experienced the depth of the word and of your experience as I read this post. I can relate to it; this encouragees me to pay more attention to what comes from my own depths and dreams. Thank you.
Namaste, Terri
August 14, 2012 at 9:31 AM
Nicole: I like your positive mindset. Instead of focusing on using material things for approval, it actually starts from within. I want people to charm people because of my righteousness, but not because I have a fancy car or a lot of money.
Not to long ago, I believed material objects would bring me happiness and make me an attractive person. I probably would not be happy when I run out of money and realise I am attractive for how much money I have. People let that get to their heads I think…
I am learning to be happy with less. I want to make my life as simple as possible!
Thanks!
August 15, 2012 at 10:08 AM
Hi William,
Sorry for the long span in response. Your comment landed in my spam folder. Yes, I much agree with you. Take away the money and the need for it and who are we. And what is our purpose in life? What would you strive for if you could strive for your passion instead of a big bank account. It sounds like you have received a visit from your own personal Duende.
Nicole~
August 21, 2012 at 12:47 AM
So cool. Enjoying reading every line on this blog.