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seen. Those sky-songs filled me with a long- purple love-in-idleness, was blooming behind
ing more intense than even my Island name-
dreaming songs. At first I did not know the my ear with a vengeance - thriving amon?
words - I did not know that there were words
to express such emotion - but the vast ex- the gulls and the harsh salt air. I have worn It
panse of above-me slowly taught me.
Ferdinand thought I was dead. That thought in my hair for as long as I can remember. poor
touched me one sunrise dawning. Ferdinand
and Hamlet and all of them. I guess I had little Puck - his earth-charm magic must have
been fond of them in a strange way, although
now they could never really understand what drowned with the power of the sea. What-
I was feeling, what I was learning there on my
back underneath the sky. ever mischief he had known, had melted from

I thought about Ariel often. I think I had him and coalesced into that purple flower.
loved him the first day that I had seen him
floating like unspoken magic over the water Purple - If such a beautiful flower could
that I did not know - but now I knew a little
bit more about that water-sky world; and I be the color of such a horrible, cruel thought
thought that maybe I understood Ariel a little
more. It only made me miss him; regret like a - Ariel thought in purple... .
bitter salt taste in my mind.
For an instant, my world spun on its aXIS,
Thinking about Ariel thinking was like a
tragedy - recognizing that one thought, one trying to comprehend the incomplete rainbow.
single shade of color, held more meaning than
any of the words I could ever express. That a But then Earth Puck supplied the meaning of
single color pouring from his head was more
truth that I could ever fathom. And his music the missing color in my consciousness and I
voice was like the center of the universe folded awoke!
layer upon layer in on itself.
Ihad sailed past the horizon; I was only hun-
One morning, I realized something, and it gry to go further, to drink the sweet water of
hit me like a wave of agonized awakening. I the utter east. I wanted to cross forbidden
had not seen it before, but thresholds and laugh aloud ... I suppose that
Robin Goodfellow was the mischief in me.

The harmony started in the air, with the stars
at the first hours of the morning. The stars
did not fade with the beginning strains of the
day ... but glowed a softly expanding melody.
Just when I thought the chord could get no
broader, when the whole world must surely
be swallowed up in that morning star-song,
the sun rose, and true morning came into the
sky with a brilliant new shade, a brilliant new
music.

it woke up with me that

morning. I realized that I The air above me, through each

hadn't really understood day and night and sunrise and
Ariel at all-but that Ihad sunset, turned all the colors of
understood him all along!

The air above me, Ar~el'sthoughts ... and I began to
through each day and
night and sunrise and sun- understand.

set, turned all the colors of

Ariel's thoughts ... and I began to understand. The day dawned purple.
It had been growing in me, and I had not
Marvelous, splendid purple! I loved the
seen it at first. But giving birth to an idea hurt whole world at that moment; I knew in an
like fire and salt sea water. It felt like dream- instant that purple was the glorious perfect
ing, but I was awake. It felt like floating on color of compassion and empathy and under-
the backs of memories. Puck's flower, the little standing.

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