“Eternity’s Sunrise” by Paul Goodwin & The Academy Of Ancient Music which clocks in at 10:53.

The following is Part 2 of a four part 8+ series based upon songs from the film ‘Children of Men’, the film itself, and the writing of Jorge Luis Borges. Read the first chapter HERE.

After nine or ten nights staring into the firmament of her mind, transfixed on her students in the night sky, on the ground, in her presence, entirely in her mind and not at all, she understood with acute acerbity that she could expect nothing from those pupils who accepted her tenet passively, but that she might expect something from those who periodically dared to challenge her. The former group, although worthy of love and affection, could not ascend to the level of individuals; the latter pre-existed to a slightly greater degree. One afternoon (now afternoons were also dominated by sleep, she was at this point only barely awake for a few hours each morning at sunrise) she dismissed the entire student body for good and retained one sole pupil. He was a reserved, sickly boy, often obdurate, whose rounded dark features resembled of those of his dreamer and whose thoughts focused upon the other students. The swift elimination of his peers did not concern him for long though; and after a few private lessons, his progress was enough to amaze the teacher. Nonetheless, a catastrophe took place. One day, Kee emerged from her sleep as if from a vast desert, peered into the ineffectual afternoon light which she immediately confused with the dawn, and understood that she had not been dreaming. All night and all day long, the unbearable lucidity of insomnia fell upon her. She remembered her baby. She clung to the thoughts that danced through her mind and considered ways in which to exhaust herself. She tried exploring the nearby forest, to lose her strength, and among the willows she barely succeeded in stealing several short moments of sleep, dominated by fleeting, embryonic visions that were ineffectual. She attempted to assemble the student body but barely had she mouthed a few brief words of encouragement before it became misshapen and vanished. Her mind was weak. In this perpetual vigil, tears of anger burned her weary eyes.

She reasoned that exploring the disjointed and dizzying matter of which dreams are made was the most difficult task that a woman could undertake, even though she could decipher all of the enigmas of a superior order; this, this was much more difficult than weaving a rope out of sand or catching lightning in a bottle. She vowed that she would forget the hallucination which had displaced her thoughts and sought another method of work. Before putting it into action, she spent a week recovering her strength, which had been drained by her delirium. She abandoned the obsession with dreaming and almost immediately succeeded in sleeping a large portion of each day. The few instances that she did have dreams during this period, she ignored them. Before resuming her task, she waited until the moon’s profile was perfect. Then, in the afternoon, she bathed herself in the shallows of the river, worshiped gods of another era, and went to sleep. She dreamed nearly immediately, with her heart pounding steadily.

Kee dreamed of a warm secret, about the size of a clenched fist, and of a deep red color within the shadow of a human body as yet without face or sex; during fourteen lucid nights she dreamt of it with great care and effort, conscientious love. Every night she perceived it more clearly. She did not touch it; she merely allowed herself to witness it, to observe it, and occasionally to remedy it with a glance. She observed it and lived it from all angles and distances. On the fourteenth night she lightly caressed the pulmonary artery with her index finger, then the whole heart, outside and inside. She was pleased with the examination. She intentionally did not dream for an evening; she took up the heart again, invoked the name of an ancient god, and undertook the vision of another of the major organs. Within a month she had come to the skeleton and the ears. These were surprisingly simple to conjure. The nearly infinite roots necessary for hair were perhaps the most difficult task. But she soldiered on. She dreamed an entire man -a young man- who did not speak or move, and who was unable to even open his eyes yet. She maintained a peaceful existence of sleep for him. In dreams she rested; he rested. Night after night, Kee dreamt him asleep.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Buy Children of Men (Music from the Motion Picture) HERE.

*front thumbnail and top photo from HERE.

EAR FARM’s 8+ is a weekly feature that showcases songs longer than 8 minutes. Click HERE to see the songs recently featured in EF’s 8+.