It was grey and bleak when I went for an early walk this morning. Not wet, not even drizzly, but not dry, either. I’d expected to find mist or fog, but there was nothing worth mentioning. Despite the fact that it was the right time, the sun didn’t seem to rise; the sky just gradually shifted from gunmetal grey to stone to ash.
Unsurprisingly, the photos I took were also mostly grey and unremarkable.
However, when I downloaded them and was looking at the set of thumbnails, I was suddenly taken back by one of them to my childhood, when we use to make inkblots.
We’d fold a piece of paper in half and then open it out and pour a splotch of coloured liquid – ink or paint – into the crease, then fold the paper back together, stretching and easing the ink to create a symmetrical image, which we would then have enormous fun deciphering.
These are the same kind of images with bilateral symmetry used in Rorschach psychological tests. And of course, it’s only a short step from that realisation to responding to this morning’s photo in a phase of “free association”.
If I’m allowed to turn the image vertical and crop it slightly, I think perhaps it’s a very small volcano undergoing a very large eruption.
It may well be due to seasonal associations, but cropping in even more, I definitely see a Christmas tree.
If I have to keep the whole of the image in sight, then I’ll turn it the other way and there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s a chess piece, though I’m not 100% sure whether it’s the King or the Queen.
Finally, returning the image to its original orientation, perhaps it just shows a soundwave.
I’m not going to make any attempt to decipher what might be being said, as I am afraid I’ve already betrayed quite enough of my disordered personality for one day!
don't confuse the narrator 