Life Persists

Between a rock and a hard place

Beauty thrives

Deep in the darkness

Strength is found

Against all odds

Life persists

I cannot bear it

I finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte a few days ago. It is a wonderful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the sort of novel I want to write. The characters are real, and the story is interesting, yet believable. I love the language of this book, especially the expressive way the characters speak to each other.

I picked up a new pet phrase, "I cannot bear it". It sounds so much more dignified and dramatic than, "this sucks" or "I can't take it anymore". This phrase can be employed in all sorts of situations. ie. "I cannot bear it if on my daily visit to my humble lettuce patch I should discover another tender plant has been devoured by those ruinous slugs!"

I enjoyed this story so much I was sad to reach the end. That was the last unread Bronte sister book on my list. I spent a couple days looking for my next book. Nothing seemed right. After reading something so delightful I could not bear the thought of a silly, modern novel, or a serious instructional book. I decided to try something different. I selected a book of classic poetry. The experience has been wonderful.

It is a short collection of poems from some of the most well known poets of the romantic age. Keats, Wordsworth, Shelley, etc. Listening to it has been very enjoyable. The narrators voice really helps bring them to life. I have gone to the internet to look up and read with my eyes some of my favorites and to learn more about the lives of the poets. Fascinating.

TO MY SISTER

William Wordsworth

          IT is the first mild day of March:
      Each minute sweeter than before
      The redbreast sings from the tall larch
      That stands beside our door.

      There is a blessing in the air,
      Which seems a sense of joy to yield
      To the bare trees, and mountains bare,
      And grass in the green field.

      My sister! ('tis a wish of mine)
      Now that our morning meal is done,                      
      Make haste, your morning task resign;
      Come forth and feel the sun.

      Edward will come with you;--and, pray,
      Put on with speed your woodland dress;
      And bring no book: for this one day
      We'll give to idleness.

      No joyless forms shall regulate
      Our living calendar:
      We from to-day, my Friend, will date
      The opening of the year.                                

      Love, now a universal birth,
      From heart to heart is stealing,
      From earth to man, from man to earth:
      --It is the hour of feeling.

      One moment now may give us more
      Than years of toiling reason:
      Our minds shall drink at every pore
      The spirit of the season.

      Some silent laws our hearts will make,
      Which they shall long obey:                             
      We for the year to come may take
      Our temper from to-day.

      And from the blessed power that rolls
      About, below, above,
      We'll frame the measure of our souls:
      They shall be tuned to love.

      Then come, my Sister! come, I pray,
      With speed put on your woodland dress;
      And bring no book: for this one day
      We'll give to idleness.                                 
                                              

Memorable Journey

Music has the most amazing ability to evoke memory. Tonight I watched a recording of Journey in concert. It's hard to explain the emotional effect, but it was deep and profound so I am going to try. It was like I was 16 again, and there in the cultural hall with all my friends. I could see and hear them all, dancing, laughing, singing. I felt those same hopeful feelings, the excitement of the event. The lightness, and freedom of the simple cares of youth. I felt the memory of my dreams for the future. Remembering your dreams is one thing, but remembering that feeling is quite another.

Memorable Journey

Just four taps on the cymbal & the familiar rhyme

transported through space and time

Here we stand, worlds apart, hearts broken in two
a heart of 16, now remembering all of you

She loves to laugh, She loves to sing

We had no idea what the future would bring

True friends forever, held dear to the heart

We sailed on together, we drifted apart

Lookin' back with no regrets
The times we had, let none forget

Don't stop believing, hold on to the feeling
The vision remains while the music is playing

Promises and plans of youth, made hopefully
Still forever yours, faithfully

Fear is the Joy Killer

Fearing pain intensifies it.

Fearing loss robs our joy.

Fearing failure assures it.

Pain comes, loss comes, and sometimes we fail.

Fear deserves no power. Deny its strength and it dies.

Love comes, joy comes, and often we succeed.

Expecting success provides it.

Seeking joy we create it.

Embrassing love intensifies it.

Shoes on the Doorstep

Shoes on the step, blanket on the floor

- Are you there, at my door?

Cup on the table, scent in the air

- I go to look, but no one's there

Fold the blanket, wash the cup

- Reach for the shoes, but can't pick them up

The house feels empty, but strangely full

- Memories of love and joy that cannot dull

Clarity

Thinking in a puddle of mud
swimming through cobwebs with concrete shoes
running full steam ahead, in a circle

Running, fighting, gasping for breath
grasping at straws, trying to make sense

Out of the darkness, the blackest of black
a spark, a glimmer, a beam

The circle suddenly straightens into a path
out of the chaos clarity arrises

Free and Independent Thought 12/31/07

feel the pushing and the pulling the turning and the twisting the changing tide

tossed from the sea on the crest of wave, heavenward

flying, start to fall, just believe and soar even higher

find my place in the sky, amongst the sun and the beauty

loved - enfolded by warmth

loved - floating in a bubble, wrapped in peace

home, where I belong, where I always want to be