December 07, 2005
THE SQUARE PLANET
Instructions: before reading cut each square of words and assemble into a cube
SQUARE ONE
everything on that planet was square :: it was impossible not to notice it :: for even the planet itself was square :: in a three dimensional fashion of course :: for when I say square I really mean cubic :: since all these squares formed cubes :: or :: boxes rather because often one of the sides of the cube was missing or left open :: we had never seen anything like this before :: a square planet full of squares :: even though we had traveled a great deal :: Angela and I :: from one end of the galaxy to the other :: and had seen many curious planets with very unusual shapes of beings and things :: but never before had we encountered a place where everything was square :: or cubic rather :: without exception :: but I must admit we were not sure at first :: when it came into sight of our THE SQUARE PLANET spaceship :: that we were approaching a square planet :: for in the extremely rapid rotations of the planet on its axis the squareness became blurred :: erased by the speed :: thus giving the distant space observer the false impression of normal planetary roundness :: but as our ship approached and prepared to land it became apparent to us that indeed this planet was cubic :: which of course made for rather unstable and unpredictable rotations and revolutions :: which Angela :: [my lovely traveling companion :: and why not say it outright since it was common knowledge throughout the galaxy :: my sexual complement] :: jokingly called convulsions and convolutions :: even the planet's eight moons were square :: and situated in space in such a fashion that they too formed
SQUARE TWO
a perfect cube :: the same size as the planet itself :: abstract cube of course :: so that in essence there were two giant cubes :: one concrete the other abstract :: whirling together in space in perfect harmony :: at first Angela and I had a lot of difficulties adjusting to the total squareness and absolute symmetry of this planetary system :: unlike other planets we investigated in the past :: we found this one to be restricting rather than liberating :: and yet somehow enigmatic in its simplicity and the monotonous repetition of its equal sides and corners :: after a while we discovered that these squares in their regularity and redundancy created series of mysterious but related designs :: eventually I explained to Angela :: once we got accustomed to moving among mineral and SQUARE TWO vegetal cubes :: some animate others inanimate :: that the square is the purest form of spatial idea complete in itself :: and as such represents one of the highest orders of pregnant spiritual and cosmic symbolism :: but that explanation did not seem to make Angela happy nor help her adjust to life among all these squares :: [perhaps because she was undergoing at the time a serious crisis concerning her sexual adequacy] :: she seemed quite annoyed by the ambiguous and suggestive metaphorical use I had made of the word pregnant :: no doubt because she had read more in that term than I had meant :: for certainly I had no perverted nor erotic intention when I offered that spiritual explanation of the square :: in any event :: poor Angela and I were extremely uncomfortable on
SQUARE THREE
that planet :: for it soon became evident to us that squares make for rather hard and angular relations :: and everything here was square :: the mountains the valleys :: the meadows :: the clouds :: even the bodies of water were square :: which was hard for us to accept :: the entire vegetation was square :: the trees :: plants :: flowers :: with square leaves and square roots of course :: animals :: or what appeared to be animals :: were also square :: even those who swam in the water or flew in the air :: so that when looking in the water :: or above in the sky :: we could see all sorts of little cubes rushing by :: [though parenthetically I should mention that this squareness did not affect the taste of their meat :: which Angela and I greatly appreciated :: and this in a necessary way made SQUARE THREE our stay on this planet tolerable :: for a square roast or a square filet of fish is just as good as a round one] :: in other words all of nature was squarely shaped :: but so were all fabricated and synthetic objects :: machines :: furniture :: clothing :: tools :: kitchen utensils :: jewelry :: toilet articles :: etc :: etc :: for everything in that world was created or constructed according to The Great Square Model :: therefore even the buildings in the cities as well as the vehicles of transportation were square :: and of course square too the living breathing thinking creatures who were in control of the planet :: these extraterrestrial beings had square bodies :: square heads :: square hands and feet :: and all these square parts formed a self-conscious shape :: a mobile body :: which
SQUARE FOUR
expressed itself in square articulations of sounds which lovely Angela :: who was trained in galactic languages and dialects :: managed to decipher so that we could communicate with these speaking squares :: in other words :: when objects or beings were square as a whole their parts were also square so that everything within everything was a system of squares within squares :: or cubes within cubes :: during our stay on this planet Angela and I had problems getting used to all this angularity :: and what we ultimately called this inescapable withinness :: but since we had no choice but to pursue to its finality our investigation of this recently discovered square planet :: as we had been ordered :: by galactic command :: [as a cosmic scientist Angela was to record precise data while SQUARE FOUR I as a space poet had to describe the planet in metaphorical terms] :: we made the best of that squareness to adjust to it physically mentally and spiritually :: but let me assure you it was not easy for Angela and I to sleep :: or make love :: inside a cubic bed whose dimensions were smaller than our bodies :: indeed it required unusual and sometimes painful contortions :: not easy either for us to defecate in a square toilet :: the human anatomy :: especially the rear end :: is designed more for the circle than the square :: and imagine having to eat square lumps of food all the time :: that does not make for easy digestion :: or having to think in terms of squares all the time :: the mind gets caught in corners and impasses and as a result can no longer function freely :: at first
SQUARE FIVE
we felt totally squarified :: if one can use such an expression :: but gradually we adjusted and after a while found :: if not pleasure :: at least some degree of satisfaction in relating to these squares :: even though we did not really comprehend how they functioned in relation to one another :: it was not until we were almost ready to depart and proceed to our next assignment that we finally understood the great principle that governed all the squares of that planet :: it is true that along the way we had noticed :: it was unavoidable :: that the squares :: or boxes as we preferred to call them :: were all of different dimensions :: some so huge that it was impossible to see how far they extended :: others so small one could barely see them :: and others larger or smaller :: but during our SQUARE FIVE entire stay on that planet we never encountered two squares :: or two boxes of the same size :: this was so astonishing to us that we eventually went around measuring as many boxes as we could in the hope that we might chance upon two identical in size :: this never happened :: what we finally discovered :: almost by chance :: during The Day of the Great Emboxing :: as it is called :: an annual celebration of the planet's divine system :: is that all the squares :: animate and inanimate :: form a long series :: stretching from the largest to the smallest :: from the most gigantic to the most minuscule :: and ultimately :: and inevitably :: all the boxes can be contained into one another according to their sizes :: the smaller into the next bigger one :: and so on :: until ultimately all the boxes are inside one great box :: all inside one great square
SQUARE SIX
:: and evidently there can be only one such box :: one such square capable of containing all the others :: the planet itself :: thus it became clear to us why we felt so uneasy :: so depressed :: in that world of squares and cubes :: it was governed by such a rigid system :: such an autocratic principle :: one could almost call it a dictatorial system :: yes a totalization system :: whereby only one square :: the largest :: swallowed all the others :: and naturally that hierarchy was unmovable :: and irreversible :: it controlled everything :: all physical moral social aesthetic and political activities :: once we understood that principle it made the rest of our sojourn unbearable :: for it occurred to us that perhaps after a while we too would have to fit into that sad despotic emboxing system :: that we SQUARE SIX we too could become squares within squares :: Angela and I felt great relief when we finally departed :: as we watched through the round porthole of our spaceship that square planet getting smaller and smaller as it receded into space :: its squareness once again erased by the speed of its rotations :: Angela said in a whisper :: it's a hard life on that planet everything there is so hard :: so hard :: I did not reply :: hers was not a question calling for an answer :: it was just a reflection :: a sad conclusion to our investigation :: yes everything there is hard :: I shook my head in silent agreement :: and thought how important it is to have softness and roundness :: in one's life :: and as we entered the great night of space :: I put my arms around Angela from behind :: cupped her voluptuous round breasts in my hands :: and gently squeezed the softness of her flesh ::
SQUARE ONE
everything on that planet was square :: it was impossible not to notice it :: for even the planet itself was square :: in a three dimensional fashion of course :: for when I say square I really mean cubic :: since all these squares formed cubes :: or :: boxes rather because often one of the sides of the cube was missing or left open :: we had never seen anything like this before :: a square planet full of squares :: even though we had traveled a great deal :: Angela and I :: from one end of the galaxy to the other :: and had seen many curious planets with very unusual shapes of beings and things :: but never before had we encountered a place where everything was square :: or cubic rather :: without exception :: but I must admit we were not sure at first :: when it came into sight of our THE SQUARE PLANET spaceship :: that we were approaching a square planet :: for in the extremely rapid rotations of the planet on its axis the squareness became blurred :: erased by the speed :: thus giving the distant space observer the false impression of normal planetary roundness :: but as our ship approached and prepared to land it became apparent to us that indeed this planet was cubic :: which of course made for rather unstable and unpredictable rotations and revolutions :: which Angela :: [my lovely traveling companion :: and why not say it outright since it was common knowledge throughout the galaxy :: my sexual complement] :: jokingly called convulsions and convolutions :: even the planet's eight moons were square :: and situated in space in such a fashion that they too formed
SQUARE TWO
a perfect cube :: the same size as the planet itself :: abstract cube of course :: so that in essence there were two giant cubes :: one concrete the other abstract :: whirling together in space in perfect harmony :: at first Angela and I had a lot of difficulties adjusting to the total squareness and absolute symmetry of this planetary system :: unlike other planets we investigated in the past :: we found this one to be restricting rather than liberating :: and yet somehow enigmatic in its simplicity and the monotonous repetition of its equal sides and corners :: after a while we discovered that these squares in their regularity and redundancy created series of mysterious but related designs :: eventually I explained to Angela :: once we got accustomed to moving among mineral and SQUARE TWO vegetal cubes :: some animate others inanimate :: that the square is the purest form of spatial idea complete in itself :: and as such represents one of the highest orders of pregnant spiritual and cosmic symbolism :: but that explanation did not seem to make Angela happy nor help her adjust to life among all these squares :: [perhaps because she was undergoing at the time a serious crisis concerning her sexual adequacy] :: she seemed quite annoyed by the ambiguous and suggestive metaphorical use I had made of the word pregnant :: no doubt because she had read more in that term than I had meant :: for certainly I had no perverted nor erotic intention when I offered that spiritual explanation of the square :: in any event :: poor Angela and I were extremely uncomfortable on
SQUARE THREE
that planet :: for it soon became evident to us that squares make for rather hard and angular relations :: and everything here was square :: the mountains the valleys :: the meadows :: the clouds :: even the bodies of water were square :: which was hard for us to accept :: the entire vegetation was square :: the trees :: plants :: flowers :: with square leaves and square roots of course :: animals :: or what appeared to be animals :: were also square :: even those who swam in the water or flew in the air :: so that when looking in the water :: or above in the sky :: we could see all sorts of little cubes rushing by :: [though parenthetically I should mention that this squareness did not affect the taste of their meat :: which Angela and I greatly appreciated :: and this in a necessary way made SQUARE THREE our stay on this planet tolerable :: for a square roast or a square filet of fish is just as good as a round one] :: in other words all of nature was squarely shaped :: but so were all fabricated and synthetic objects :: machines :: furniture :: clothing :: tools :: kitchen utensils :: jewelry :: toilet articles :: etc :: etc :: for everything in that world was created or constructed according to The Great Square Model :: therefore even the buildings in the cities as well as the vehicles of transportation were square :: and of course square too the living breathing thinking creatures who were in control of the planet :: these extraterrestrial beings had square bodies :: square heads :: square hands and feet :: and all these square parts formed a self-conscious shape :: a mobile body :: which
SQUARE FOUR
expressed itself in square articulations of sounds which lovely Angela :: who was trained in galactic languages and dialects :: managed to decipher so that we could communicate with these speaking squares :: in other words :: when objects or beings were square as a whole their parts were also square so that everything within everything was a system of squares within squares :: or cubes within cubes :: during our stay on this planet Angela and I had problems getting used to all this angularity :: and what we ultimately called this inescapable withinness :: but since we had no choice but to pursue to its finality our investigation of this recently discovered square planet :: as we had been ordered :: by galactic command :: [as a cosmic scientist Angela was to record precise data while SQUARE FOUR I as a space poet had to describe the planet in metaphorical terms] :: we made the best of that squareness to adjust to it physically mentally and spiritually :: but let me assure you it was not easy for Angela and I to sleep :: or make love :: inside a cubic bed whose dimensions were smaller than our bodies :: indeed it required unusual and sometimes painful contortions :: not easy either for us to defecate in a square toilet :: the human anatomy :: especially the rear end :: is designed more for the circle than the square :: and imagine having to eat square lumps of food all the time :: that does not make for easy digestion :: or having to think in terms of squares all the time :: the mind gets caught in corners and impasses and as a result can no longer function freely :: at first
SQUARE FIVE
we felt totally squarified :: if one can use such an expression :: but gradually we adjusted and after a while found :: if not pleasure :: at least some degree of satisfaction in relating to these squares :: even though we did not really comprehend how they functioned in relation to one another :: it was not until we were almost ready to depart and proceed to our next assignment that we finally understood the great principle that governed all the squares of that planet :: it is true that along the way we had noticed :: it was unavoidable :: that the squares :: or boxes as we preferred to call them :: were all of different dimensions :: some so huge that it was impossible to see how far they extended :: others so small one could barely see them :: and others larger or smaller :: but during our SQUARE FIVE entire stay on that planet we never encountered two squares :: or two boxes of the same size :: this was so astonishing to us that we eventually went around measuring as many boxes as we could in the hope that we might chance upon two identical in size :: this never happened :: what we finally discovered :: almost by chance :: during The Day of the Great Emboxing :: as it is called :: an annual celebration of the planet's divine system :: is that all the squares :: animate and inanimate :: form a long series :: stretching from the largest to the smallest :: from the most gigantic to the most minuscule :: and ultimately :: and inevitably :: all the boxes can be contained into one another according to their sizes :: the smaller into the next bigger one :: and so on :: until ultimately all the boxes are inside one great box :: all inside one great square
SQUARE SIX
:: and evidently there can be only one such box :: one such square capable of containing all the others :: the planet itself :: thus it became clear to us why we felt so uneasy :: so depressed :: in that world of squares and cubes :: it was governed by such a rigid system :: such an autocratic principle :: one could almost call it a dictatorial system :: yes a totalization system :: whereby only one square :: the largest :: swallowed all the others :: and naturally that hierarchy was unmovable :: and irreversible :: it controlled everything :: all physical moral social aesthetic and political activities :: once we understood that principle it made the rest of our sojourn unbearable :: for it occurred to us that perhaps after a while we too would have to fit into that sad despotic emboxing system :: that we SQUARE SIX we too could become squares within squares :: Angela and I felt great relief when we finally departed :: as we watched through the round porthole of our spaceship that square planet getting smaller and smaller as it receded into space :: its squareness once again erased by the speed of its rotations :: Angela said in a whisper :: it's a hard life on that planet everything there is so hard :: so hard :: I did not reply :: hers was not a question calling for an answer :: it was just a reflection :: a sad conclusion to our investigation :: yes everything there is hard :: I shook my head in silent agreement :: and thought how important it is to have softness and roundness :: in one's life :: and as we entered the great night of space :: I put my arms around Angela from behind :: cupped her voluptuous round breasts in my hands :: and gently squeezed the softness of her flesh ::
