Five palm trees stand mute
In the early morning light.
The sea moans softly.
In midafternoonThe sea shimmers and sparkles.
Seagulls don't notice.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
TEMPUS FUGIT
In 1969 I first saw the clock that now hangs in the study at my house not long after I had relocated to the Republic of Singapore. Singapore in those days was nothing like the amazing, modern city tourists flock to see and business men long to include in their plans for the future. Having been expelled from the Federation of Malaysian States for tipping the balance in favor of the Chinese in the federation, the Republic of Singapore was only four years old when I got there. The opium house in the old city was still operating under government supervision because Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew hadn't yet figured out a way to shut it down without hurting the addicts who went there to get their fix legally every day. If you look closely at the black and white photograph, you'll see a clock on the wall. In 1972 when the place was being closed, I found the clock in the street on a pile of stuff that had been the contents of the house. I bought it for three Singapore dollars, the equivalent in those days of one U.S. dollar. Below the photograph of my wall is a better picture of the clock itself. It's very special to me, not just because it has a fascinating history, but because it reminds me daily of the ticking away of life. Please don't misunderstand and think I consider morbid or discouraging its counting out the minutes of my life. Quite the contrary. The clock is a reminder that I am alive, and happily so.
(Click on an image to see it larger)
“Time is relative”
doesn’t tell the whole story,
doesn’t even explain how
when I was a child
summers were long and languorous
or how
now that I am old
Wednesday comes hard on the heels of Sunday
and December begins immediately after April.
The moon is down
and up at the same time
depending on where you are.
Be patient is good advice
if waiting won’t harm anyone
but is perhaps an error
or even a sin
if it gets in the way
of righting a wrong...
continuing to
forbid two people
who love each other
to marry until the time
is right is wrong.
In 1969 I first saw the clock that now hangs in the study at my house not long after I had relocated to the Republic of Singapore. Singapore in those days was nothing like the amazing, modern city tourists flock to see and business men long to include in their plans for the future. Having been expelled from the Federation of Malaysian States for tipping the balance in favor of the Chinese in the federation, the Republic of Singapore was only four years old when I got there. The opium house in the old city was still operating under government supervision because Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew hadn't yet figured out a way to shut it down without hurting the addicts who went there to get their fix legally every day. If you look closely at the black and white photograph, you'll see a clock on the wall. In 1972 when the place was being closed, I found the clock in the street on a pile of stuff that had been the contents of the house. I bought it for three Singapore dollars, the equivalent in those days of one U.S. dollar. Below the photograph of my wall is a better picture of the clock itself. It's very special to me, not just because it has a fascinating history, but because it reminds me daily of the ticking away of life. Please don't misunderstand and think I consider morbid or discouraging its counting out the minutes of my life. Quite the contrary. The clock is a reminder that I am alive, and happily so.
(Click on an image to see it larger)
“Time is relative”doesn’t tell the whole story,
doesn’t even explain how
when I was a child
summers were long and languorous
or how
now that I am old
Wednesday comes hard on the heels of Sunday
and December begins immediately after April.
The moon is down
and up at the same time
depending on where you are.
Be patient is good advice
if waiting won’t harm anyone
but is perhaps an error
or even a sin
if it gets in the way
of righting a wrong...
continuing to
forbid two people
who love each other
to marry until the time
is right is wrong.
Monday, January 17, 2011
REFLECTIONS AND DREAMSToday thoughtful American’s and lovers of democracy all over the world celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. I have made a point of rereading slowly Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech every year on this day. Today I also reread Nelson Mandela’s inaugural address (May, 1994)... and Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation... and just to keep myself in a very grateful frame of mind, I read Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount.
Over in Balboa Park I found some reflections that I could turn into dreamy photographs. If you know Balboa Park, you’ll remember the outdoor stairs leading up to the Fountain level in front of the Museum of Natural History. At the bottom of the stairs, on both sides, are small reflecting pools. Water rushes into the pools after cascading down man-made channels and shimmers perpetually... casting up dancing reflected light patterns on cement walls. While I was taking pictures, a young girl, fifteen or sixteen years old, walked up and asked, “What do you see.” I was glad she asked, because what I saw was worth sharing. She said, “Oh! Now I see it. Thanks...” and she joined her boyfriend at the top of the stairs, and I think she was explaining it to him as they walked away.
ABSTRACTED... Just for the heck of it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)