2017 Voice & Vision Collaboration

I'm excited to be involved in this year's Voice & Vision collaboration once again though this time felt even more challenging.  As you know, I love collaborations, but it is always a bit intimidating when you're asked to interpret someone else's writing.  My aim is to let go of any preconceived (by me) expectations and allow the words to invoke images and in this case the image of lilacs and the feeling of mystery or the unknown were my guiding influences.  This time it took many hours of reading and re-reading along with closing my eyes and letting images float through my mind.  I'm really happy with this piece and hope the writer appreciates it, too.

Writing by Shane Kroetsch:

John sat on the front porch, hunched forward with his elbows on his knees. A figure shuffled down the laneway, silhouetted by the orange glow of the setting sun. William raised a hand in greeting as he neared.

“Evenin’ Will.”

“Evenin’ John. So, it’s ready is it?”

“Suppose so. Come have a look.”

John led William around the corner of the house and through a break in the Lilacs. A small round table stood in the center of a worn dirt patch. The same table that Emily and her friends would sit around and gossip over afternoon tea. That was a long time ago though.
John’s creation was in the center of the table. It was about the size of a bread box, but not at all the right shape. Even in the long shadow cast by the house, the object stood out. It was vivid, like it was more real than everything around it.

John scratched at the stubble on his chin while William circled the table. It seemed like an eternity of heavy boots dragging through dry soil, but after a time William paused and bent down. He raised a calloused finger and squinted his grey eyes.

“Decided to keep that did ya?”

“Made sense at the time.”

“It’s good. I like it.”

John pursed his lips and nodded. His shoulders dropped as he hooked his thumbs in to the pockets of his jeans.

“So? Think it’ll work?”

“I think it’ll work just fine. Ya done good John, yes sir.”