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In flight
The season of migration is upon us. Some of it we see right in front of our eyes and some of it goes unnoticed. I’ve been reading Helen Macdonald’s book Vesper Flights. She opens our eyes to the unseen flights of birds and other creatures. These are magical essays predominantly about nature. Macdonald is an expert writer on nature and you may have read her best-selling book — H is for Hawk. Helen is also a poet. She shows us many aspects of nature which will move us beyond the boundaries of our present lives. In the essay called “High Rise,” we venture into the city of New York to…
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Kindness must watch for me
I find myself unable to edit the blogs I write, so I send them back to the “draft” stage. It is as though I can only write in the immediate moment — the true present. It is also hard to find my true voice. My desperation comes out of anger, not depression. This poem by James Agee has rung true for me for many years, but now during this pandemic, this time of moral unrest and economic injustice, I believe it is particularly meaningful. Here it is both the poetic form and the song composed by Morten Lauridsen. Sure on this shining night Sure on this shining nightOf star made…
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The Sun over my Shoulders
In the middle of the journey of my life, I came to find myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost. It is a hard thing to speak of, how wild, harsh and impenetrable that wood was, so that thinking of it recreates the fear. It is scarcely less bitter than death: but, in order to tell of the good that I found there, I must tell of the other things I saw there. Dark Woods and fear I cannot rightly say how I entered it. I was so full of sleep, at that point where I abandoned the true way. But when I reached the foot of a…
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The summer the music died
Four years ago I left Fort Greene, Brooklyn, and moved to a small beach town called Asbury Park, New Jersey. It is not for everyone, but somehow it has suited me well. If given the opportunity I might have picked Dutchess County where I had lived on and off for over 13 years, but the shore beckoned. Asbury Park is best known for its favorite son — Bruce Springsteen. He appears locally quite a bit, but my only encounter with him was at our son’s school the night of his induction into the Honor Society. Bruce was there as well, celebrating his daughter’s own induction. I smiled at this handsome,…
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RIP Dapper Dan
I got home the other day from grocery shopping — you know the kind we are used to doing now, mask on and six feet apart. Things went well until I got a call from my neighbor Amanda. “I’ve got very bad news,” she said. My heart froze. I said, “Nothing has happened to Dapper Dan, I hope?” But our beloved neighborhood cat that I gave lodging to had been hit by a car. He was gone. Shock to the psyche: Whatever adrenaline courses through ones’s life system, for me, it was shock rather than grief. I couldn’t fully imagine why and how it had happened. For me, he continued…
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Mrs. Woolf, Would You Care to Join Me for a Cup of Tea?
Prelude: I turned the corner of Great Russell Street and realized I was about to meet my favorite author, Virginia Woolf. My heart was filled with a mixture of awe, some intimidation, and the realization that we came from such different pasts. I finally decided that I would be just who I am – a woman who had fallen in love with her works in graduate school. Her battle with “moodiness” or what we now call bipolar illness interested me, but I probably would not be able to approach that most difficult subject. I had carefully chosen The Bloomsbury Hotel, not only because it was elegant, but also nearby were…
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Random Thoughts
I know I say I am doing well and In comparison to most that is true But there are thoughts ringing in my head that never Were there before. Thoughts of suffering and change around the world. In Bangladesh cancelled clothing orders have snatched meals from women and families. Elderly musicians in Louisiana and North Carolina keep singing and playing without any income. Even with a modest income I am privileged. I try to divide up my pie to help the hungry here and far away, but it is never enough. I don’t sulk, but reflect on what it is to live alone. I thought I was fine with this…
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“The Tender Gravity of Kindness”
This is a time when we need to lean into kindness. I was going to write about how I am experiencing kindness and what I am doing to engage in kind acts. However, I would rather we look at this poem by Naomi Shahib Nye. It shows us how kindness is the other side of sorrow. Journey with it and let it grow within you. A bird just flew into my window where I am writing. I wrapped it in a cloth, thinking it might have been in shock and took it to my favorite neighbor who knows everything about birds. We talked while it gently breathed its last. It…
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In the Midst of a Pandemic – Change
Jane Goodall tells us that four changes would help the world’s climate. We must eliminate poverty. Unsustainable lifestyles must change. Abolish corruption. Reverse our growing human population. And now here we are in the midst of this devastating pandemic which is actually changing our behavior. Here are a few observations: The sighting of the snow leopard and a new baby bison has been magical. 10,000 flamingos landed in Mumbai, India for the first time. Reserve gas and oil storage are full beyond capacity because airplanes are practically grounded, and cars are driving less. Countries with rampant air pollution look cleaner and healthier. China’s emissions fell by 25% and their fossil…
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Happy as the Grass was Green
When I wake up in the morning, it is hard for me to remember my dreams from the night before. But, occasionally a dream will drift into my daytime hours. Even a waking dream can give clues to who I am and what’s on my mind. The other day I found myself thinking about two jobs that I had during my college years. The summer of 1972, I took a job working at the Brockway Glass Company in Washington, PA. The company hired college students to make boxes and watch for flawed glass coming out of the hot furnaces on the conveyor belt. Often I worked the midnight to eight…
