Uncommon Objects

Anyone that knows me well, knows that I have a love affair with finding unique things, experiences and people in life. When you make the BIG FIND, it should be snatched up and forever cherished for it's individuality, beauty, uncommonness and most of all, flaws. Sometimes they only come across your path, once in a lifetime. If you are smart then you recognize them and savour the moment. You hold them and do not let them get away. They are often quirky and misunderstood, and I like those qualities very much. I appreciate them for what they are and what they are not. Sometimes the negative space is more interesting than the positive form. The negative space is often neglected and overlooked, but when recognized and studied, it enables us to draw a more honest and true conclusion to the authenticity of a thing, a moment in time or even a person.

One of my favorite stores in Austin is called Uncommon Objects. It is exciting every time I go in there on the hunt. Though, I am usually not looking for anything in particular, unless you count a fantastic afternoon of treasure hunting. But usually things just find me in one way or another, they pull me in if you will. It is more about the experience than anything else. Though I do always stop at the monster jewelry case....and admittedly I usually don't go home empty handed. Now, do not get me wrong. This sounds like a hoarders paradise, but I am far from that. In fact I tend to be the opposite. I am a ruthless purger and I do not claim to be a collector of many things in life. I am quite picky and quite choosey. While I find unique qualities in many things in life and appreciate them all the same, I am not quick to possess things for myself. It has to be pretty amazing and special in my eyes for me to keep it as my own and let it into my heart.

With all that said, here is a poem I recently felt inspired to write. It was one of those days when the words just came to me and started pouring out. I could not stop them, so I simply did not. This was the result.

Uncommon Object

I catch you in the corner black

just a glimpse, through shadows thick

Peeking out from behind them all

they shroud and crowd your quiet soul

Sitting on your shelf

where arrogance shines, reflects

You are easy to scratch and scar

humbled and matte black

You are hiding and shy

overlooked, overlooked, overlooked

I want what they could never see

to appreciate what they don't know

Your black absorbs my light

you are sucking me in

A magnet

your gravity pulls

I sense your secret soul

excitement wells

I get closer, closer

desire pools

I don't ponder you long

I know already

I reach to rescue you from the corner black

they outshine you no more

I clutch you

you feel rough, you look tired

You are gorgeous

natural, native to my hands

What price will I pay?

any.

What are you worth?

everything.

I will give you a home

sooth your constant unrest

I will intimately consume you

piece by precious piece

A lifetime of cautious collecting

you have been there always, waiting, my undeserved bounty

My treasure trove discovered

will I ever stumble on your key?

Now I hold you, touch you, look at you

I can hear you, smell you, study you

I can bare to wait no longer

I break you open, read your pages

You are every color at once

a black mystery unsolved

You feel like nothing else, a rare, intense saturation

your new address, my heart

My consummate, novel, desire.

My uncommon object.

-- Erin Jo Chung

April 2009