I’m happy to present and share with you all, my newest video poem entitled “Deeper”
I at first thought this poem a little “creepy,” but I showed it to my dear friend, sim partner, and expert blogger, Happiness Merryman, and she said she found it lyrical and deep, not as creepy as my warnings had stated. I just know the subconscious as well as the bottom of the ocean, hold both fascination and terror for this woman, ever since she was a little nightmare- proned, destined -to -be- a- poet, waif in the jungles of Costa Rica.
I am drawn to the depths, and yet…..well I think my poem and this video says it better than I can in an introduction. I will only say a few more things. This machinima was filmed on my newest world I created on Kitely – Virtual Worlds on Demand, and also on my earlier world of Water and Glass where I filmed two videos, “Water and Glass” and “Shooting Star” Deeper is sort of a small underwater journey through tubes and portals until you get to the… well the deepest part. Both worlds are public, free of charge and can be entered through these links:
Water-and-Glass or Deeper. I would love any intrepid grid hopper, and those who don’t yet know they are, to come and visit me. I will be happy to give you the royal tour.
I did use my new 3D Navigator Mouse , albeit sparingly, as there was a problem over the weekend (maybe my server end) of getting very erratic bandwidth and lousy fps. Ahh but when that gets cleared up, I can see it will be wonderful to use it full time.. So without further chatter on my part, I give you “Deeper” and as always I just hope you get comfy, while you take five minutes out of your day..and Enjoy!!
“Deeper”
If thoughts could be held like prisoners,
I would hold mine back from walking too near the sea.
I would not allow them to break the rules, and be swallowed by the monsters
that always are pursuing them and me.
Immune,
I would sit in quiet satisfied complacency, and no
temptations or jeers or manipulations could break inside disturbingly.
I would not go down below the level of the ground
I would not go deeper… where there reigns only the unknown and its sounds.
I do admit the deep part has its draws as well as dangers,
confusion in the dark can be so inspiring at times,
but I have seen the sorrowful mistakes with my unfocused eyes,
and felt the fear envelop me… so make no mistake
I do not wish descent as an escape,
and pray that sleep protects me from this unwelcome state.
Yes I know that way way down, there is some beauty to be found,
but I would not go down below the level of the ground.
I would not go deeper where there reigns only the unknown and its sounds,
where hideous creatures and their thoughts strive to reach their dream,
to catch me unaware with no vigil and no warning,
to come up swiftly from underneath and when I least expect it...
and when I think I am the victor,
roar with all their power and… swallow me.
Karima Hoisan
Dec.19th, 2011
“Deeper” Kitely – Virtual Worlds on Demand
Digital Rabbit Hole 
Oh my…i hardly know what to say about this one…as always with you, Karima, it is amazing and beautiful…and all elements are works of art, the visuals, the music and sounds…the mysterious poem itself, and where it takes us…..and of course your velvet voice…:)…combining to be a rich moving piece, as realms of the deep are addressed.
Yes it is a frightening place, to be sure. For me, two worlds present themselves in this poem.
One is the actual powerful ocean with all its scary things living and lurking in the depths. I do have a personal fear of being over my head in the ocean for that reason, so i can relate.
But also it can be an amazing metaphor for the inner realms of the subconscious, where the most profound monsters and demons hide. Fear stands at its gates…and so we don’t go deep, we don’t want to wake them…oh no! So we stay safe on the surface.
Also, i ponder…. can the deep diving hold our key to freedom? … from the very demons that would attempt to bar our entry into those depths? If we go there, They could “…roar with all their power and…swallow me…” That is a scary image. makes me shudder a bit….but I believe here is the key…at the very core of our “fear”, past all its creatures to the Cause itself.
We must See past the illusion…that is how we defeat the scary creatures and take our Power back. So in this metaphor, i would dive.
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Oh jan,
as always and now I guess I expect no less :), your comment on “Deeper” is so beautifully written and thought out. I just love how you eloquently see the many layers, and break this poem/video down into its revealing parts.
Yes we share the fear of the depths of the ocean. although we both lived by its side for years, finding peace on the shore, contemplating its perfect tides and the rolling in and rolling out..a metaphor for our own journeys. We both found peace looking out to the horizon, and yet one of my biggest nightmares was to be enveloped in a tidal wave and pushed down way down and drowned.
Deeper is not really an example of my feelings on the subconscious, at least not consciously:) but yes the metaphor is most certainly there. I did have horrible nightmares as a child, and my extremely over-active imagination, produced some awesomely scary films that played upon my closed sleeping eyelids. You and I today do have different approaches for dealing and knowing what lies down in the depths of that part of us. I choose to try to walk away from traumatic parts of my past sort of like a survivor of s plane crash, dazed but alive and slowly put it behind me, while you Are the intrepid deep sea diver who goes down further until you understand what it is down there that still pulls your strings on the surface. We both agree that light can and does make it in, and that is what is needed to be not just a survivor, but to be free forever from the power of repressed thoughts. I will “blame” the world I created here on Deeper, for setting the mood of this poem, but sometimes a bit of darkness and eeriness feels very good to me, so i guess what we create comes form our own depths always, even if we are not aware of that fact. I am so glad you enjoyed this one.. I had fun putting this one, together, and I admit that in my process of doing that, the music I write first, will dictate the poem that comes after. Your unfinished painting once again appears in one of my videos, and the forming bubbles was the perfect touch and accompaniment, for the feeling. Thank you dear friend for lending it to me, and as you progress in finishing it, I will change the images down in the deep of “Deeper. Thank you too for taking the time to leave this beautiful comment.
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This is a stunning, chilling piece. Beautifully edited, startling images, a Masterpiece of sight and emotion. Well done, Karima! I love it.
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Thank you so much Seth for taking the time to leave this comment. Your words make me want to do more:)..very much appreciated and so pleased you found it worthy
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Dzinwiz Babii says:
December 21, 2011 at 6:45 pm (Edit)
Hehe… this one definitely has an air of ‘darkness’ around it, more *other worldly* than the usual meals you serve us (smiles). I am glad I took the time to immerse myself by reading the poem first (I get so mesmerized by the visuals that I have to separate first, then combine – or vice versa). I love how you give your mind free reign to venture EVERYWHERE, not just the safe & sane places… unbound, borderless freedom to express whatever strikes a poetic chord within you. I dig the ‘Deep’ as it also strikes a chord within me. BTW, the music is perfection 🙂
*I took the liberty to move my sister Diz’s comment to this post where it was meant to go:)
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Diz!! I knew the “darkness” wouldn’t throw you as we have danced, a gorgeous Goth Chorus line in some of the best cemeteries in SL:) I am really glad you took the time to read the poem over, that although I think the words are pretty clear on the recording, is sometimes better understood when read. The fact that you do get mesmerized by the visuals makes me happy, as I think that is part of the great joy of putting a poem into machinima form for me. Being able to combine those visuals with the words and music(so glad you liked my composition for this one) makes me feel the poem itself takes on a new “bigger” life..Yes The Deep, is I think, a universal shudder for most people who are not marine biologists:) Thanks sweet sister for leaving your great comment
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Dearest Karima,
Where to start…
Visually peeping through the port hole; the viewer is transported through a process of osmosis between layers of dreams and the deep dark realms. There is no escape as you lure us like a siren into deeper darkness where monsters quietly and motionless wait to pounce (shudder). This invokes a movement from a dualistic to a dialectic imagination. The dialectical vision brings such polarities as coastland/heartland, man/nature and victim/voyager into interpretation.
It is haunting and beautiful, chilling and terrifying. Only a Piscean would invoke Poseidon in such a haunting manner…
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Suzanne..oh Suzanne thank you so much for viewing and commenting on this one.. Yes being a Pisces (as well you know) does help to project a certain point of view, in part obliviously at home in the water, and in other part always conscious that there is something bigger out there that can eat you up. I think both you and Jan see so clearly into the layers of this particular metaphor, that sort of wrote itself while I contemplated the world I had just created….*smiles.. Your review is not only intuitive but scholarly and educated…It means so much to me, that you stopped by. I hope to be reviewing your newest ones soon too.. reading your comment I realized how much I miss your beautiful Poseidon- kissed poetry too
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happiness says:
December 23, 2011 at 12:23 am (Edit) Kari: I find this evocative, and wonderfully true… How lovely that you have captured this whole metaphor of “going deeper” in your soundscape, with its otherworldly voices and dimensional music, your always soulful words, and of course your images. I think we all know that sense of being torn between the safe security of the shore, and the beckoning depths of the dark blue sea of consciousness. And the question always haunts: “Do I dare the journey?” Your have combined the elements of your theme here in a way that I believe will speak to many of us, as we sometimes
sink into the abyss, to see what is there, and sometimes choose to just decline the siren voices, fearing they might lure us to our doom. You just get better and better at this, and it is wondrous to be on the journey of discovery with you. Onward, with love and courage!
*I took the liberty to move this comment by Happiness under the original post
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Thank you Happiness for your comment and for sharing my first “public showing of it” in my screening room on LINC island. Yes I think the metaphor of the Deep is pretty universally understood.. We are “ground level creatures and when we are taken too high up or two low down we feel a bit nervous at first..In time all can be learned but that equilibrium comes with practice and some of us choose to stay in our comfort zones… and not become either sky divers or deep sea ones..metaphorically or otherwise…What price Truth? What price peace? Big appreciations for your encouragement for my craft and your warm friendship.
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My Dearest Miss Karima,
As always, I am very impressed by your bottomless well of talent. To repeat myself, I don’t know how you do it. After reading the reviews of you and Jan I feel I had better end my humble critique and not parade it on the same page as the two of you. After all…would I dare…to have a political debate with Cicero?…trade humorous quips with the likes of Samuel Clemons?…explain the sonnet to Billy Shakespeare?…tell Mozart that he fell short in Don Giovanni.?.. race Lance Armstrong to the top of Alpe d’ Huez?…Argue with Ptolemy on the functions of the solar system?…edit the works of Tolstoy? My lips are sealed! You and Jan said it all! You have so much more to tell. Keep creating! I am so proud of you. Happy New Year Ruca!
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Hoyt you always leave me smiling with your comments, and this one is no exception..I am not sure why you think Jan and I have more to say on the subject than you, but your comment was very clever, humorous and made me smile from ear to ear.. Thank you Ruco for all your warm and generous support. Happy New Year to you..and here is to one more in SL together
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Karima, I read your poem once and watched the video twice… As I lack the poetic prowess that you posses, please accept this short comment as a meager token of my appreciation for sharing with us the beauty of your creations.
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Thank you so much Ilan for leaving this comment, and thank you for providing a virtual environment on Kitely to make it possible to create my dreams, and my videos.
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Jan put it succinctly. The visible terrors of the underground (ocean) and the unknown. When I was small boy growing up, I would watch Rod Seling’s Twilight Zone alone…then try to sleep. Right. I could imagine all those terrors after me. In my room. In my closet. Outside my door. I am an air sign (Gemini) and was always absolutely terrified of what lay under the ocean’s surface. So I hated going into the surf on vacations to California.
All that stuff was just waiting for me. I knew that. Ugly, dreadful stuff. It would harm me and probably kill me. All the deadly fish and other unseen (until too late) deadly terrors. Zoom ahead many years. I was out of Service, married to a wonderful lady and on vacation in Hawaii. We went snorkelling on day and I knew I was gonna die. Then…we put on our gear. We went down together. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. Magic! OK-this was a top rated dive site-Molokini crater. So many incredible fish! Gorgeous! Amazing beauty! We then snorkelled for the next 8 days. Everywhere. I even shocked myself! I couldnt wait to see what was everywhere! Good heavens…what I had missed all those years!
My attitude towards the unverse changed. I found that the fearsome was only in my own mind. I played with moray eels and a barracuda one day. It was amazing! This was a truly change for me. My wife and I swam hundreds of yards over corral-yes, dangerous…but beautiful life forms. All of God’s incredible handywork. So-this was a very personal lesson for me. Powerful. The point here is that Karima’s quest to learn overpowered her fears. That is the whole point here. We are supposed to overcome intense, preprogrammed fears to see for ourselves what lays below. The ocean as well as ourselves. You see…they are the same. The hidden unseen…in both planes. Karima was proded and encouraged to go deeper…to see more, without being sure of her safety. The gained knowledge is the treasure! What is really there is the goal of the fears. It is the God-force within us that prods and pushes in little shoves…to go further. to see more..to feel more…to know more….to come to understand the connections that bind all ones in truth.
Jan had it right. As always. Her incredible creator-directed art paints the reality. We simply need to interpret it the right way. We are supposed to be scared. But…we are also supposed to go for it. To discover, as Karima does, what is there. This is the whole point of physical life here. To risk the dive. To then find the treasure. Jan and Karima are loved beyond their understandings. This is the magic and map of life here on Earth.
Thank you Karima and Jan for your gifts of clear vision for the world.
Tube
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Tube, my dear friend and commentator “singular” on my poems and videos..I wait for your comments and impressions anxiously, because you always write them from such a unique perspective, from a point of view that is both familiar and yet there is a certain way you see things (maybe out of the side of your eye?) that helps me get a fresh angle on my own work. I enjoyed your sharing of your snorkeling experience, and I too the first time(and last time I must admit) was in panic, and then moved to awe. Afterwards the adrenalin and the endorphins made me feel wonderful but at the time, I too found it extremely challenging to put on scuba gear and go down 30 meters under water. What really caught me on this comment was something you saw so easily, that even I didn’t see, and not even Jan , who is a very sensitive and wonderful commentator did not see either..that although I said “I wont go down” I kept going down..smiles descending while I repeated my mantra “I won’t do down below the level of the ground…” So by declaring I won’t I actually did.and wind up at the deepest point, my own asleep consciousness, where monsters, and my fears laid in wait for me to touch down.. You thank me Tube, but I thank you for your insights, your voice that alwasy feels fresh to me, and your support of my Art and what I try to do with it.. May this New year bring many wonderful exchanges between friends, and you for sure are one of the most gifted and loyal ones I know..Big hugs to you Tube…
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