Page 245 - The Grotesque Children's Book
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globe. Trad., Earth, Heavens, Creation. Megl., Potential rather than actual creation; the world if
we had any say in its making. Not actually a joyous image to us; it is lost opportunity;
chances we were never allowed.
goat chariot. Trad., Transportation of the god Dionysus; a reveler’s cart. Megl., Secret victory;
thievery without consequences; stealing from the rich and running away to another
country with the spoils.
goat men. Trad., Half-men; half-goat; representing bacchanalians; drunkards; sinners; bestial
men. Megl., Untrustworthy men, generally, but it can also mean someone more benign
such as a tavern owner; that is, those in possession of the goatskin.
goat, saddles. Trad., Man’s inventions designed to tame the beasts of burden. Megl., Goats
who have overthrown their human riders, or who mean to overthrow them. Goats should
not be ridden like horses. We are too small and weak. I mean, they are.
goats. Trad., Minor demons; minion of the devil. Capricorn and therefore Saturn; melancholia.
Goats drew Thor’s chariot in Norse mythology. Megl., Depending upon the syntax of the
image, our goats can mean either jewels or poison and occasionally eyes/seeing. By
metaphor of our metaphor, goats represent that which the plutocracy have stolen from the
working class...our value, our ability to see the world clearly. And we want it back. We
will no longer put up with sacrificing ourselves for the plutocracy; their fires consume us
and we stand, immobilized by the financial chains they have locked around our ankles.
To those of you who believe your sacrifice is noble and you’re giving meaning to the
world, we have but one word: bolt!
green scarf. Trad., Lesson; something to be learned, spoken, or remembered; cf. liripipe.
Megl., Inventiveness; resourcefulness. Hope. A green scarf or head sash represents that
there will always be a possible solution, even when everything else has been taken from
you.
Grillar. Trad., A partial human; a creature with human features but only a few body parts.
Megl., The deaf, the lame, the disenfranchised. And don't immediately say, “That's me!
I'm downtrodden, so call me a grillar and give me a soldi.” That's my streetcorner on
which to beg; you're not allowed to make even a single denari by impersonating a grillar.
Grillen are often used in art to represent evil, or universal disorder. So when you see in
the ceiling a creature who's missing some body parts, you can either throw me an extra
coin and lighten your conscience, or you can shiver in revulsion and fear. A third option
would be to lend me an ear or give me an arm and a leg to stand on.
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