Today I read more about the war in Ukraine in the New York Times. The war grinds on. The article was about the role of therapists to offer treatment for the psychological damage exacted by the extreme violence of artillery strikes and missiles destroying towns. I thought about commenting about a poem today, as…
That Madman Have you not heard of that madman who lit a lantern in the bright morning hours, ran to the market-place, and cried incessantly: “I am looking for God! I am looking for God!” As many of those who did not believe in God were standing together there, he excited considerable laughter. Have…
Brain fog… At least that was my condition upon waking this morning. It is gray, windy, a day chilled with winter’s retreat. The disorientation, as if my senses were obstructed by a old exhausted filter, continued until I arrived at Starbucks. Now I am into my second cup of coffee. I watched the 1970…
Do we not all “live” at the Hotel California? “You can check out anytime but you can never leave…” Bombs and rockets rained down last night. Russian missiles struck at least three cities in western and central Ukraine, and there were reports of fierce fighting on the outskirts of Kyiv. — according to the…
Time for writing is limited today. I did not post yesterday. Posting nothing again would be morally indefensible under the circumstances. This was the lead paragraph in The Morning news update from the New York Times: First, a news update: Russia continued its broad offensive in Ukraine today, pummeling cities and towns. Ukrainian officials…
This morning in a fog, dazed in disbelief. The siege of Ukraine continues. The port of Kherson has fallen. It is a city of 300,000. The bombardment of other cities continues. My mind reels at the news, that Xi Jinping General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party asked Putin of Russia to delay the…
Monday morning, the Russian assault on Kyiv continues. Ukrainian resistance has been fierce, the intended lightning quick investment of the capital city bogged down. The Russians have sufficient armor, artillery and infantry to squeeze the outnumbered defenders. Infrastructure is destroyed in the course of the shelling, rocket attacks, the street fighting. For information on…
Saturday morning, gleaming sunlight upon pure fallen show, and at Starbucks I wrestle with words again. Each day presents a new contestation to say what is sayable. Before turning in last night I noted that on television an interview conducted with a female Ukrainian diplomat. By all appearances it was a measured, sober, responsible…
“Western leaders and diplomats,” she wrote, “think they live in a world where rules matter, where diplomatic protocol is useful, where polite speech is valued. All of them think that when they go to Russia, they are talking to people whose minds can be changed by argument or debate. They think the Russian elite…
Took a walk yesterday; a mid-winter warmup, the sidewalk was melted clear of ice. Walking past Almond Marsh I felt sad, resonating with the gray sky, the muted brown of the decaying cattails. The melt water was a sheen of reflected light upon an ice covered marsh. The world before me appeared ethereal drained…
