the Falls
June 03, 2003
Aptesia Fallarme
Aptesia Fallarme, "the waterfall on legs", "a creature designed to render the services of an oasis", "the welcome visitor to a water-starved garden lawn" whose biography is number 18 in The Falls, was a recollection of a character that Luper probably met in Rome, in the forum close to the Arch of Settimio Severo. On a more metaphorical level, Luper is known to have stood in the
Piazza de Repubblica in Rome, and stared at the decadent female sculptures posing langorously under cascades of water pumped in from the Tivoli Hills.
These sculptured females are curiously unviewable in close erotic detail because like sirens thy poise on an island - albeit a traffic island - in one of the busiest spaces in Rome. A lack of close inspection gives rise to much erotic speculation. Forever running with water, their slippery bodies seem to be a permanent invitation. Aptesia may also be an invocation of Isadora Duncan before she met the sewing-machine manufacturer, and a lady Tulse once viewed taking a surreptitious leak on a hot afternoon on a public platform in Dublin whilst she was enthusing about At Swim Two Birds by Flann O'Brien, the pink peonies on her flowered skirt darkening to a rich and sombre purple.
Posted by the Archivist at 10:40 AM to the Falls | Comments (0)