tranquility~ from the Tao te Ching

The Way takes no action, but leaves nothing undone.
When you accept this
The world will flourish,
In harmony with nature.

Nature does not possess desire;
Without desire, the heart becomes quiet;
In this manner the whole world is made tranquil.

that being said

I speak into the walls, the dirt, the wind
that rises off the prairie, small noises
distorted by the earth’s arc. What reaches you
bears no likeness to the benevolence

I cradle like a fallen star. Never are my words
the alar emissaries they might be.
Instead they take the air as taloned things,
look to light upon the softest place.

Silence suits me best. In its white dome
my voice is snowfall on the water.
And you are there, cupped hands lifted,
the taste of sweetness on your lips.

the eigth

He will not let go her circumstance
even when she offers silky throat,
thin wrists, a knobby spine.
Still he sees her as a novitiate,
face pressed to the marble floor,
the willing bride, the petitioner.

There is no forgiveness in his touch.
The slap of prayer against truth
builds, stone upon slick stone,
ever higher. She does not kneel,
not anymore. Instead she stands
near the window slit, eyes

the bone-shard moon that tilts westward.
If understanding were a knotted rope
that she could climb, then climb she would,
but there are only the vaporous remains
of elegant words, fragile strands

that will not hold together or bear the weight
of daylight. No it is not the Angelus
that waits behind her lips. She trembles
with fear at what he places on his altar,
despairs how easily he lights the fire..

to infinity... and beyond...

Last week the world bade farwell to a true man of adventure... Sir Edmund Hillary, who summited Mt. Everest before it was littered with spent oxygen bottles and had a bar at base camp. In 1953 it was still unsure if it was even possible to reach the top of the world. In May of that year Hillary and Tenzing Norgay (a native of Nepal) did indeed accomplish what no human being had ever done before. Hillary died last week at the age of 88 in his native New Zealand. He left behind a legacy of adventure, but also a love for the enviroment and a passion for humanitarian work on behalf of the people of his beloved Nepal. Godspeed, Sir Edmund. I hope you are on your greatest expedition somewhere amid the stars.

Norgay and Hillary at base camp after the 1953 summit. http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/hil0bio-1

And for a look at the thriving business and ego trip climbing Mount Everest has become at present, check out... http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/everestbeyond/everestbeyond.html

winter morning

winter morning, originally uploaded by Sea Dream Studio.

I hate to harp on this, but I love the sky in Texas. I snapped this out my car window (while driving, I'm ashamed to confess) this morning. I was taking Will to school. There is a huge farm that borders the school on 3 sides. There are cows, a pond, old barns... very pastoral. Today it will be near 70. This is a winter I can survive!!!

Coquina Beach, NC

Coquina Beach, NC, originally uploaded by Luke S..

Always the sea calls me. My heart's true home.

Russian heart

Happy Saint Valentine day, originally uploaded by http://www.flickr.com/people/martovskiy/.

Outside Moscow the snow was clean,
a pressed white sheet spread and tucked
into the edges of the day. Your kiss faded
faster than the winter sun. Its pale memory
held no warmth or shadows where a dreamer
might find refuge. Night brushed the treetops
with grey smudges and crept across the sky
as swift and canny as foxes in a thicket.

Solitude was not enough for me, the losses
grown stale and distant. I came to Russia
so that I might shiver at her pallid dusks,
might feel my heart's wounds like broken glass
pressed hard against my bare palms.

At Suzdal I dipped my hands into the snowbank
past my wrists until the cold bit so deep
I could remember everything the world
had taken like a petty thief. There I drank
the twilght's rimed wind, an aperitif as sweet
as summer's lush and long forgotten bower.

~this poem was inspired by this lovely photo taken by Andrey and posted on Flickr. As he says in his post... "There we founded this heart."

brrrrr... not!

Oh, joy! It is so WARM here!!! 75 marvelous degrees on Jan. 7th!!! Yessss!!! This is what I call winter!!! If this is global warming (forgive me) I love it!!!

Thank you weather gods!!

... the guest of honor at my imaginary dinner party.

Venice by Turner

Venice by Turner, originally uploaded by pijus.

Ah, I love JMW Turner... How magnificent it must have been to see the world through his eyes... sigh... His way with light... what a gift...

How did I miss this?

Library Parking Garage, originally uploaded by jonathan_moreau.

Rats! I wish I'd seen this on my trip to KC in October. Is this the coolest parking garage, or what?

snagged moon

snagged moon, originally uploaded by Sea Dream Studio.

An enchanting sunrise like this makes me forget that it is 26 degrees here this morning.
Kids are back to school, except Kate. Her classes resume on the 14th (lucky girl). I am savoring some silence and making mermaid art. And staying warm...

done

Wizard of Oz Monkey, originally uploaded by Jenyca.

No more of these in 2008!!

tutu

tutu, originally uploaded by heyjupiter21.

I would so wear this.

Russian Winter

Russian Winter, originally uploaded by Sea Dream Studio.

Now, this is a winter you can sink your teeth into...

You can run...

but you can't hide.

Tao te Ching on words

Nature says only a few words:
High wind does not last long,
Nor does heavy rain.
If nature's words do not last
Why should those of man?

Who accepts harmony, becomes harmonious.
Who accepts loss, becomes lost.
For who accepts harmony, the Way harmonizes with him,
And who accepts loss, the Way cannot find.

Childhood trauma No. 12

Childhood trauma No. 12, originally uploaded by Uh … Bob.

Holy sh*t! Just when I think they're not real I see this! EGADS! I pray these devils do not follow me into 2008!! I have seen quite enough of them in the past 12 months!!!

Jake~ the graduate!

Jake~ the graduate!, originally uploaded by Sea Dream Studio.

My oldest son Jake just graduated! Here he is celebrating at Joe's Crab Shack. This is our gift to him... toy Craftsman tools... but look at the handles. They are wrapped in real $10s and $20s and there are more in the bottom of the toolbox.

Shawshank revisited

Jailbreak sparks N.J. manhunt
Men placed dummies in beds; magazine photos over holes in walls
The Associated Press
updated 5:52 p.m. CT, Mon., Dec. 17, 2007
ELIZABETH, N.J. - Two inmates escaped from a county jail, hiding the holes they made in the walls by putting up photos of bikini-clad women, officials said.

Authorities searched over the weekend for Jose Espinosa, who was awaiting sentencing for manslaughter, and Otis Blunt, who was facing robbery and other charges. They also launched a review of jail security.

The two got out of the Union County jail Saturday evening. The county prosecutor's office said the two apparently removed cement blocks from two walls, squeezed through the openings, jumped to a rooftop below and then made it over a 25-foot-high fence. The section they escaped from was supposed to be the most secure area of the facility.

"I'm extremely disturbed that a jail with the capability of security it has would foster a breach of this nature," County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Monday's editions.

Espinosa, 20, an alleged gang member, was awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to manslaughter in a 2005 drive-by shooting in Elizabeth. Blunt, 32, was awaiting trial on charges of robbery and weapons offenses.

The men helped cover up the break by placing dummies under their bed blankets, and hiding the wall holes with magazine photos of women in bikinis, authorities said.

Authorities launched a review of security measures and barred inmates from pinning up pictures from magazines on their cell walls.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22300706/