slow awakening

imagine that you can slow down;
there is no point in rushing by for now
cause time has given you an extra hour
yours to spend the way you want

what would you do, where would you go?
or will you choose to simply stay
where you are now and take your time
to just absorb the joy of the awaking world

you had forgotten it was all around?
the trees, the creek and all the bugs
you thought annoying now notice
they all seem to be a lively world of art.

walk

thoughts come uncalled
when you walk slowly in the park,
tired on the steep mountain path,
or slowly squeaking on the snow.

the higher you climb the lighter you feel
the more tired you get, the more clean
the farther away your steps get
the closer you get to your heart

lentils - a feast of colors

tiny orange pellets,
yellow halves of moons,
tiny brown and greenish discs
are sitting in the pantry shelves;

pulses feed a modest body
through lent and other days;
don't disregard them
these old foods are here to stay;

do not be greedy, but grateful
for the gifts of the earth
for skills in the hands of the cook
and her patience.

links of the day

A day to remember John Hope Franklin!

On scholarship
"The very essence of the life of the mind is the freedom to inquire, to examine, and to criticize. But that freedom has the same restraints abroad that it has at home: to state one's position, if impelled by personal conviction, with clarity, reason, and sobriety, always mindful of the point that the scholar recognizes and tolerates different views that others may hold and that his view is independent, not official."
The American Scholar
1968

"I have never regretted the decision to remain a student and a teacher of history. ...I have been a student and advocate of the view that the exchange of ideas is more healthy and constructive than the exchange of bullets."
Charles Homer Haskins lecture
April 14, 1988

"You can't have a high standard of scholarship without having a high standard of integrity, because the essence of scholarship is truth."
Winston-Salem Journal
Aug. 6, 1989

http://www.duke.edu/johnhopefranklin/index.html

http://www.omnivoracious.com/2009/03/the-old-man-is-dead-john-hope-franklin-19152009.html

thought of the day

Talk to your children, nourish them with good foods, for their tummies and minds; encourage them to be physically active; involve them and make them aware of the world. You can learn with them too, it is your second chance at growing smarter. Keep trying, your efforts should pay back.
- inspired by "Intelligence and how to get it", by Richard Nisbett.

morning song

(thinking of Demmis, Lena and Frank and those who need just a little more light)

with great joy the morning has risen
over the town and the forest alike
nodding their heads daffodils bring thanks
for the coming of spring

may the path lead your feet faster
may you discover bursting hearts on young branches;
may the fresh air bring vigor and health
in harmony let us say grace for this simple wealth.

may you grow stronger today in your body
may you take steps ever more steady
may your mind feel curious and bright
may this teach you to spread around light.

daredevil

who told you
that you could
steal my heart
and wrap it around your fingers,
as if it were a blade of grass?
who taught you to stretch my patience
involve me in all your games;
make me run, sing and
in general do everything
your heart desires.
look at you
you are only four
daredevil you -
know not the meaning
of the word rule.
I am to tell you
that you have a lot to learn
while your giggles tell me that you think
you somehow know
everything.

anchor

photos courtesy of Chris Benton (http://photo.net/photodb/user?user_id=404845)

one day I will find myself
walking at the edge of the sea
on a pebbled beach
swept by the wind of memory

nothing could be cleaner
than the foam of a salty wave
no history of its travels
just the essence of being

present but ephemeral
digesting the joy of the moment
heated by the sun, shadowed by the cloud
nothing more, nothing less but me

no hunger taints the moment
budding is the creation of thoughts,
images of what can be done with bare hands
with clay and paper and colors

mind the rising dreams from the children
anchored in those of their ancestors;
living on the edge of the wave
in nothing but the present

today there is no need for excuse, or apology
no room for mistakes, everything goes
nothing is purer than the salt
on this beach swept by the wind and the sea
(of memory)

spring symphony in two colors on a backround of green

the spring symphony has started violently in yellow
from the bottom up: dandelions, daffodils, forsythias and unknown climbers
try passing their message with a lot of fanfare all the way to my ears:
"we are here triumphing against the cold and the snow"

away I go, it cannot be but the beginning of spring
and you are all out already (that means the mosquito will soon start to sting)
I cannot be convinced that this is how is going to be for all the duration of the spring symphony
but I have to give in under their gentle pressure exerted in harmony

the purple humble crocuses, irises, magnolias are all humming low key
"we are here triumphing against the cold and the snow"
we've pulled aside the winter's curtain of sorrow
our show is full of green joy, tune in - it is our time and our symphony

at day at the Nasher's

a day at the Nasher's museum of art
went out of the ordinary
when the docents took time from their daily routine
to invest in in teaching school children with heart

they made up stories about strange people
living in the Bloomsbury house
their moods and their darings were all discussed;
we concluded they might had feelings - like us.

except it was hard sometimes to distinguish
smile from sorrow, and loneliness
in the crowd gaily cohabiting
in the mansion nest for the art.

we gave names to the paintings,
we gave reasons to feelings
we left home with our hearts budding
artistic expressions of our own beings

passage

the snow has built last night a tunnel through the forest
and covered trees with lace and drapes
it was the winter's way to ease the passage
to let spring come, to say good bye and take a one year rest

On this clean Monday, when spring fasting starts
there's lots of pure white snow to mark the day
snow on pink buds, and snow on lambs,
snow on the hats of children playing out with joy.