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Poster.

May 10, 2023 / A metaphysical entity / 0 Comments

Hanging, waiting, declaring, procrastination.

Your eyes are dizzy. Where did all the smoke come from? A slight whiff of chlorine from the toilet. But the poster, it has survived all the parties, birthdays, random nights of drunkenness. It has survived your nights and mine.

Back in the day, it was recent. It drew people to an event, to a specific outing. But no one gave it the respect it deserves by throwing it in the trash. Why should it be left here when it served it purpose?

Only humans continue to exist without knowing their purpose, what a treacherous existence that is! Why should a poster with a definite expiry date suffer the same consequences?

Why should the poster watch me drink myself into comfort, into the next hangover? Be part of this repetitive motion of endless grasping for novelty?

Hello poster, it’s me. Papa Shanghai. I have come to tear you down.

Thank you for your services. You have fulfilled your responsibilities beyond the requirement.

I am the repo man. I am the saviour of posters. I am the collector of past times. I am the garbage man of hidden treasures.

Weekly state: sitting game.

May 7, 2023 / A metaphysical entity / 0 Comments

The ladder is moist and it looks like the wood might break any second. Well covered in moss and mushrooms it speaks of many seasons. Slinging over the shoulder is the trusted tool, looking innocent until faced somewhere but the sky.

Each step an adventure, each noise a possible point of interest. Scents and silence only to be broken by the call of the wild, the wind and the rhythm of the breath.

The top, covered by a small roof, ready to serve, once again. The seat is still cold from last nights abandonment of post. The feeling is a mixture of excitement, tension and relaxation. Whether something happens or not, is up to the infinite and mind-bending complexity of the universe. Therefore, too much to spend even a single thought on.

It is a sitting game, it is one of advanced positioning, silence, solitude, and waiting. Impatience is its greatest enemy and calmness the highest virtue.

There is a reason why all of this, is, a sitting game. But now, please…

Weekly state: fermented.

April 30, 2023 / A metaphysical entity / 0 Comments

Something is bubbling, rumbling, working.

Your dear Papa Shanghai has discovered the magic of fermentation and is adding it to its content, from now on. Thinking back, most dishes are the result of thorough fermentation, stemming from the mind. They have been stored for enhanced flavour, spicier content.

Will you be satisfied with the right amount of fermentation? Is it too much for you? Is the bacterial load too heavy for your distinguished taste?

Well if yes, you have come to the wrong food stall. Because Papa Shanghai serves straight from the heart, the brain and stomach. I am the MSG on your thoughts.

But now leave me be, this weeks dish is served and I need to ferment.

Onion.

April 28, 2023 / A metaphysical entity

You tell me that the worst part about being this good-looking is the vanity that comes with the attention. I am shimmering, shining, even out-shining everything that stands besides me, lives besides me, vegetates. The responsibility of bearing this sheer beauty is immeasurable to the average observer. It is a hard life, believe me. For years, I am in this situation now and it has never gotten easier. But the steadfastness of my will, my stature and my role as an example will carry me throughout this hardship.

I know what you are thinking now, reading this. I can feel the sentiment, the resentment, building up. But this is my role as well, I am here for your anger, frustration and judgment to be deflected, redirected and misdirected at me. Do not worry, I have a good understanding of what you must be going through. And I do even have a better understanding that me saying this, agreeing with you, holding up my other cheek in a good Christian manner for you to slap, makes you even more mad.

Anger is an outburst of emotion, something that urge-driven beings succumb to when reason and logic fail. The very reason for my heightened role in this situation is that I have accepted my position. I bear responsibility for my shining purple skin, seemingly endless beauty, my longevity of being, the impetus that is my core. You are struggling, I can see it. You are worried about the position that your kind has. So you lash out.

Get angry at me. You feel that my vanity is my doom. One scratch to my skin and my frail ego will burst into pieces. You try to hit me with all your might, the anger and blind rage that has been building up, resulting from the collapse of your own ego.

I am scarred.

But here I stand before you, undressed and scarred. You look at me with widened eyes. The anger has vanished but no wisdom has been created. I am shedding myself, slowly. I am making you cry as I loose my outer layer. I am unpacking myself, my new, shiny, beautiful purple skin. I am still standing, nothing has changed. I lost my scar, leaving you with tears in your eyes.

I forgive you.

This is why I am an onion and you are not.

Weekly state: oiled.

April 23, 2023 / A metaphysical entity / 0 Comments

Maintenance has taken place and I am back on the tracks.

Weary I wandered, for many long days. Taken for granted, I felt that the movement wouldn’t stop. But I am not a Perpetuum mobile, I am Papa Shanghai. I habe brakes and a gas pedal, soles and an engine. I am starting and stopping, using up energy and replenishing.

After all, maintaining this machine to move forward is important and I have neglected it for too long.

Same as the seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks and months run by, I am continuing. The urge to run with the time is heavy but you do need to rest. The desires I long for, the goal that is most imminent, is the determining factor, wearing me down. But I forgot to stop, use the brakes, use the engine and my control over it.

So here I am, well oiled, on the tracks.

Clack clack, clack clack.

Papa Shanghai´s Takeout

Poster.

Weekly state: sitting game.

Weekly state: fermented.

Onion.

Weekly state: oiled.