Saturday, December 30, 2006

Basement Clean-up


Basement clean-up
I haven’t yet written one of those personal-journal kind of blogs, but here goes.
Our basement. Ever have one of those rooms that you just avoid like crazy. Our basement is literally filled with junk and has been from the first day we moved in.

Yuck. I hate the place, so I avoid it. We all avoid it. If I have to go down there, I make sure to make the trip as quick and painless as possible. My daughter is the same. She doesn't want the junk; she wants room to do a few cartwheels. And Paul Darcy runs by the junk and hides in his fairly decent den.
Well, we, all of our family that goes with that "we," are going to clean that place up this week.
We all have some time and needs must clean.
Such a task takes vision. Sometimes I lose the kind of vision it needs to clean up such a disaster. My daughter, sounding rather like a self-help guru, tells me: "Mum. You can do it.
Anything that you believe, you can do!" How’s that for inspiration. I smile back. Where have I heard that speech before?
But this basement is a different kind of animal.

Is it possible?

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Nightdreaming


I drive the wrong way
Repeatedly

I drive in circles
Unknowingly

I drive down lonely, dark concession roads
Wondering

How many wrong turns will it take?
How many U-turns?

Who is driving my car?

Sweet and Sacred Feast


Welcome sweet and sacred feast;
A leave of absence without pay may

Welcome life! Welcome life! Welcome life!
be granted to a full-time employee

Dead I was and deep in trouble
for valid reasons. Approval for this

But grace, and blessings came with thee so rife,
your manager and/or district manager, who

That they have quicken’d even dry stubble
should be advised in writing at least 30

thus sould their bodies animate,
prior to a leave date

Dark, void and crude.
termination will be processed.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Do Nothing


I read a quote today that I liked. It contradicts everything Carlylean (my biggest undergrad influence). Carlyle told us to work, work, work. I believed him and I’ve been climbing mountains big and small since then.

Pilgrim’s Progress. Puritanism. The protestant work ethic. They’ve all contributed to my excess yet often undirected and misdirected ambition.

Here’s the quote that questions all this toil and moil.
There is nothing to do. Just be.
Do nothing. Be.
No climbing mountains and sitting in caves.
I do not even say "be yourself"
since you do not know yourself.
Just be.
The quote comes from India: Nisargaddat Maharaj.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

poetry thursday meme

1. The first poem I remember reading/hearing/reacting to was a collection of nursery rhymes my mother read to me. Many of these rhymes have stayed with me to this day, such as "they that wash on Sunday have all the week to dry....." etc. The old British rhymes are odd little poems - a gift of British eccentricity.

2. I was forced to memorize Macbeth’s famous speech about the dagger that he sees before him. Highschool English. After memorizing them, we had to write them correctly on paper - commas, semi-colons and all! It was tricky.

3. I don't read poetry because.... reading poetry takes a lot out of me emotionally. I love it and hate it, simultaneously. Poetry requires more attention than a novel does. When I do read poetry, I give it all the attention it demands, and I usually get just as much back.

4. A poem I'm likely to think about when asked about a favorite poem is ....... Love III by George Herbert. It’s cryptic, like all of Herbert’s poems, but also simple. It’s an amazing reflection on human pride.

5. I write/don't write poetry, but.............. I wish I could find my voice. I’m feeling the need to express myself more – which is good. But I’m scared of the aloneness of the creative act. I’m scared of finding a voice that is truly my own.

6. My experience with reading poetry differs from my experience with reading other types of literature..... because poetry forces me into a moment of experience. When you read a novel, you can chart your progress — page 30 — page 92 etc. When you read a poem, you aren’t necessarily going anywhere. You’re on page one. You’ll end on page one. You have to engage with page one. There is no point in looking ahead.

7. I find poetry.... in the bible and other spiritual works. I find poetry in doing yoga. Poetry isn’t always words on a page because half of poetry’s power is in what can’t be said or spoken. You feel something – you can’t express it. Poetry is about the frustration of being inarticulate.

8. The last time I heard poetry.... I wanted time to take it in. I’m not an audio learner (as the education/lingo people call it). I like to hear a poem three, four, five times. Then I can to appreciate, savour and remember it. Hearing poetry run by like a hurtling train frustrates me.
I feel as though I fall out of the train and can’t get back on again.

9. I think poetry is like an orange peel.