meet the goblins

wednesday is market day in oxford. thursday too, but the items they sell are different in each day. thursday is mainly for second hand stuffs. old books, porcelains, decorations, cds, musical instruments, et cetera. wednesday is the day for fresh vegetable, poultry, meat and cheese. and fruits too. everything is sweet and colourful. and costs less than in the supermarket.

yesterday morning i went to this wednesday market near gloucester green bus station. in my mind was of oranges apples or vegetables to buy. and then, if i found something nice, i might take it with me for my lunch or quick snack. so i came there. i observed the sellers first, with a pocket camera in my hand. and listened to their calls. "come buy! come buy! a pound one bag for these grapes! two bags for the strawberries!"

and after two or three captured photos, somehow my intention was attracted to something else. not those fruit or the vegetables. it was someone's literary work. rossetti's "goblin market". i found it among the the piles of antique merchandise.

"thank you very much darling, it's one pound, love," said the seller. and i took the book home with me. an old fashioned compilation of rosetti's works. i have never heard of christina rossetti before. it was my introduction day. but i was immediately touched by this 'first hello', because later when i read it, i think the narrative of the goblin men, the sellers in the fairytale-like setting, and everything and everything, all fit to the scenery of tim burton's animations and danny elfman's scores and songs! if you wish you can read it too, here, although i thnk it is nicer to read from the book because you can do it on your bed just when you're about to go to sleep.

"... apples and quinces, lemons and oranges, plump unpecked cherries; melons and raspberries; bloom-down-cheeked peaches, swart-headed mulberries; wild free-born cranberries; crab-apples, dewberries; pine-apples, blackberries; apricots, strawberries--all ripe together... come buy, come buy!"

"...we must not look at goblin men, we must not buy their fruits: who knows upon what soil they fed their hungry thirsty roots?"

"come buy," call the goblins hobbling down the glen...

and in my dream last night, indeed i was visiting the goblin market and met those merchant men.