Saturday, August 28, 2010

My Favorite: it's You

Over the river, the next left and left again is Us.
Over the sea, to the right, above the mountain and right again is Us.
Over the bridge, under it, to the left, in the meadow is Us.

In the corner, in the cupboard, in the tissue box.
Is Us.
Down the road, miles to the top.
Is Us.
In the coffee cup, in the fruit salad.
Is Us.
In the book, in the tv, in the music.
Is Us.
In the bottom of the bag, in the camper chair.
Is Us.
In the clearness of the sky, in the blur of a dream.
Is Us.

My Favorite:
Your hands
Your smile
Your next question
What makes your heart beat
Your frown
Your reluctance
Your intensity

Your YOU
Is Me

Monday, July 5, 2010

Road trip: My Mother Her Mother

When I was a child, about 5; my parents and I had a home in a coastal city.

But fate had it that my Father worked a little more than 3 hours inland.

Deciding to pack me up along with his suitcase, once a week and traverse

to the small town of Ladysmith, was an adventure.

The amazing thing was; I would leave my Mother and arrive at her Mother.

I would leave her Mother and arrive at my Mother.

With my Dad.

A journey of trust.


My Mother Her Mother


The trees disappear

they reappear

i see the light pole

i don’t

here’s a cloud

there’s a cloud

a dam

some cows

a corn field


i’m singing along


my trip there

i cannot wait

i know

i will

see her

she will be

and i will learn

she will do

and i will try

she will grow

and

i will take a leaf


my return

i cannot wait

i know

i will

see her

she will be

and i will learn

she will do

and i will try

she will grow

and

i will take a leaf

>i<

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Autumn, Winter, Spring and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Its incredibly beautiful here in South Korea at the moment.
Cicada's are buzzing, the dragonflies have hatched and look mostly awkward (with their large wings and lack of colour).
The leaves are bursting out of their branches and the flowers basking in the sunshine, enjoy the cool of the afternoon.

There is nothing like this feeling; it makes hope seem possible, joy inevitable and laughter...as clear as day!
I struggle to find sadness in my life; mostly because I hide it with Chocolate chip cookies and copious amounts of sweet coffee.
But the change of season makes reality hit like torpedo!

There is an Autumn, when you feel warm and romantic; and you live in a novel where you are the character with curly hair, with a wonderful collection of hats, who always does her thinking and diary entries beside a pebble bottomed stream.

Then Winter comes and you couple the hats with gorgeous scarves; the river has frozen so the desire to write and think is there, but put on hold. You become a myriad of questions, thoughts; somehow the stream helped with this.
You have no idea how this has happened and in your heart you know, but you blame the stream.
And like the pebbles at the bottom; all of you, remains frozen.

But with Spring, you feel movement and you run to the stream, and under the thin sheet of ice, there are fish swimming. They gently bump the pebbles and you feel...free.
Your spirit has awakened. You run back grab your book, your hat and your scarf.

I have not yet felt the summer.
But when I do I will write

>i<

The Human Seasons
By John Keats

Four Seasons fill the measure of the year;
There are four seasons in the mind of man:
He has his lusty Spring, when fancy clear
Takes in all beauty with an easy span:
He has his Summer, when luxuriously
Spring's honied cud of youthful thought he loves
To ruminate, and by such dreaming high
Is nearest unto heaven: quiet coves
His soul has in its Autumn, when his wings
He furleth close; contented so to look
On mists in idleness--to let fair things
Pass by unheeded as a threshold brook.
He has his Winter too of pale misfeature,
Or else he would forego his mortal nature.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The Secret Ingredient of Pineapple Beer

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law."
Deuteronomy 29:29

(Readings for the Liturgy of the Hours at Mount St. Scholastica Lent 2010)

The season of Lent can be described as the Springtime of the Soul; or the chrysalis that wraps the heart, before a beautiful butterfly unfolds its wings.

So just before Ash Wednesday; I took a look at my Life and decided to clean out the clutter. I thought I would open the draws and reach up high on the cupboards throw out the dusty things that just take up place, and that I have absolutely no use for!

Well it turned out, that all the clutter was out in the open; dusted, freshly polished and ready to use, actually in use!
Yes, Lent is a time of self denial, self sacrifice, lamenting; meditation instead of clutter.
It was hard to realise that all of this stuff existed and that it took up precious time and effort that could be directed in something worthwhile. So I took a swallow of my own concoction; of course I had to pinch my nose and throw my head back, but I HAD to!

"...the chrysalis stage in most butterflies is one in which there is little movement. However, some butterfly pupae are capable of moving the abdominal segments to produce sounds to scare away potential predators."
(Wikipedia)

It's the fourth week of the Season, and the above quote is true. With getting rid of all the time consuming BALDERDASH!

OH MY WORD!


Honestly I thought that this would be a quiet time, six weeks of stillness, six weeks of closing my eyes and (breath in breath out).

Every time I close my eyes I hear noise, it does not stop. Every minute that I filled with claptrap, hid potholes in my Soul. I feel the noise, the brokenness, that lies there fermenting like pineapple beer. The stink, the vile flavour that I have to ALSO pinch my nose and swallow.

The noise, the brokenness is not only my pain; it is the pain that I have caused.
It is my pineapples that I have cut and peeled and slowly fermented under my kitchen sink and forced people and myself to drink.
But it is also the noise that scares me from doing this again, the sound that wards off my Soul, and welcomes a God of Light and Love.

"This is what has been revealed to me and now it is mine, I do not want it to belong to my sons, but I will observe what You have shown me"

Love and Light
>i<