A World For My Ashes by Christopher Collingwood
June 2020 | Utopia Science Fiction Magazine
of the day’s since past;
and my name bequeathed to
the lasting stone -
take my remains to a distant world,
one so strange and unfamiliar;
that never in my dreams
would I have found such a place.
Then bury my ashes
deep within the ground,
or what may exist in such a curios land;
a mucus trap, a helium stream,
the inner ear of a drifting giant.
Give my ashes to the moment,
but say no prayer,
no words of remembrance;
nothing to disturb the will of change.
Then hopefully — with patience,
and the instinct of nature;
a new beginning will take a breath,
an essence will stir,
and something will grow.
Perhaps the first few hairs
of a giant sand fish, or a tentacle
of a billow squid, as it floats into the
upper atmosphere; or maybe even an
eight-foot tall Ge’ve’gee traveller,
with burnt orange skin and sapphire eyes;
who walks on six legs,
catching particles of perception
in the rhythm of his hands.
Who seeks only the will of mood,
and the desire to temper curiosity –
with no need for purpose, or the
scholar of time.
Finding no greater pleasure,
then lying in a swarm of hairy
singing worms, as they resonate;
or searching through the remains of a
giant mind cluster, to watch light refract
off dying neural crystals.
Not consumed with goals or
the limits of reason; but accepting the
senses and the chance of discovery;
knowing what exists within life,
offers more concern then what abounds
beyond it.
Until his body had grown old and
fragile, when the days remembered
became enough to fill the
dreams of another lifetime.
He would make his final journey
to the Cave of Summons,
and watch the eternal funeral dance
of the immortal Zang-ga plant;
while his body slowly fell apart
in strands of fleshless wonder.
Floating across the world in harmony,
to return in gratitude
all he had experienced;
celebrating the truth of life,
and leaving nothing for a chosen
name; nothing for regrets;
not even ashes for the passing of time.
Originally published in the June issue of Utopia Science Fiction Magazine
Christopher Collingwood was born and raised in Sydney Australia. He completed university in Sydney and graduated with a degree in business studies. Chris has devoted his spare time to writing, with works published in Outposts of Beyond, Illumen, Neo-Opsis, and various other publications.
