I've been reading Andrew Lam's story collection, Birds of Paradise Lost. Surprised and inspired beyond belief by these stories, I realize how the words are sifting and settling. Connections, ideas, dreams. Take the dance expression, "pas de six," and add it to a scene in which relationships, language, and surprise play against each other. Vietnamese and American characters. The Folsom Street Fair in San Francisco. Include cat-o'-nine-tailed whips, sadomasochism, misunderstanding, parasols painted with poetry, angels' wings and confusion, leather and elation, eventual understanding, even love.
The metaphor of the flower, six-petaled, blossoming before our very eyes.
"THE FLOWER BLOOMS. A pas de six."
Quotation from "Love Leather," Birds of Paradise Lost, 2013, Andrew Lam