I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter. What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man, You cannot say, or guess, for you know only A heap of broken images, where the sun beats, And the dead tree gives no shelter,…
Friday afternoon. Dawn brought a snowfall to the area. We have not seen this much snow in a number of winters. My daughter-in-law and I dedicated an early morning session to shoveling. More is to come. Reason led us to clear the vehicles, then prepare to do the same again a few hours later….
V. What the Thunder Said There is not even silence in the mountains But dry sterile thunder without rain There is not even solitude in the mountains But red sullen faces sneer and snarl From doors of mudcracked houses …
The Waste Land By T. S. Eliot V. What The Thunder Said Then spoke the thunderD A 400Datta: what have we given?My friend, blood shaking my heartThe awful daring of a moment’s surrenderWhich an age of prudence can never retractBy this, and this only, we have existed 405Which is not to be found in…
Midweek and I am unsure what to write. Uncertainty is the rule, the rule that overrides all else most of the time. Read a passage translated from Aristotle’s Ethics I 1094b which is famously and often quoted. The philosopher writes that we should measure our judgment to the particular topic at hand. Our expectations…
Who gave us the sponge to wipe away the horizon? –The Gay Science by Friedrich Nietzsche To The Unknown God Once more, before I move on I am directing my gaze forward In loneliness, I am lifting my hands Up to Thee, to whom I flee, To whom I, from the deepest bottom of…
On occasion words come to “set my hair on fire.” It is one of my favorite metaphors to describe a life-changing experience. Poetry is a matter of words used to proper effect, to orient us as a compass needle to our position within the larger scheme of space and time. This poem by Cal…
I accompanied my granddaughter to a story telling event at the public library. The topic was the screech owl and raptors in general. The three story tellers were enthusiastic about their work rehabilitating injured raptors, returning the birds to the wild. I felt humbled in the presence of the birds which were gently removed…
[Sun-messenger] Lynn Xu Sun-messenger call Life to me slowly and all at once criss- crossing in that golden light Snail with your moving shroud Silver tree with your thousand roadways O dream hurry go past me This poem speaks to me and I cannot describe why. These are the shortest days, less…
Journey of the Magi T. S. Eliot ‘A cold coming we had of it, Just the worst time of the year For a journey, and such a long journey: The ways deep and the weather sharp, The very dead of winter.’ And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory, Lying down in the melting snow. There…
