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George Bernard Shaw once wisely said:
“If you cannot get rid of the family skeleton, you may as well make it dance.”
While I knew very little about him, other than being fascinated by the story of Pygmalion, this quote often heard, stuck in my mind as a sign that some things just are, and always have been. It seems to settle the inner chatter about why some things “just are”. Or even things long ago, that “just were”.
Here is an interesting link from the internet, where some sisters talk about their experiences researching the family tree, and it makes good reading. They have some good tips to share about how they did their searching, and a few wry laughs to go on with. I came across this quote there again, which proves, there are some things that just are…
(copyright Imogen Crest 2007.)
Snowy days,
Warmth kept in scarves,
and bulky clothes
Older ways
Friendly gatherings
under lampposts
Meaning stays
in spite of change
and time
Snowflake plays
on reddened faces,
waiting tongues
Aletta Mes
I attempt to never tell others what to do – preferring to use story and example of directions and paths than might benefit and enhance one’s life. But I will tell you all what NOT to do. A week ago Sunday I cut up a felled tree into 12 fence posts and hauled the debris to the street. After setting the posts I connected them with rails and woven ‘rick-rack. It wasn’t lunch time yet so I mixed three bags of concrete to patch a leak in the basement wall, painted a door, cut up an old gas line and installed a set of lights and switches and fixed the fountain pump – and wrote three poems. I was hurting quite a bit by then and decided (stupidly) to have a couple of drinks to relax. Later, in the hospital I learned that my body no longer metabolizes alcohol – even a single glass of wine will poison my system.
Being 62 isn’t as much fun as I thought it might be. Rats – I forgot to change the spark-plugs in the car. Take care, my friends. I guess I don’t know how! Creation is everything for me. Guess I am going to have to ask for help.
papa
ale the best, Edith.
Hey!
I heart tell of this fella Bob Geldolf –
leastwise a man called “Yesirbob”
by folks aplenty up round the minin’ camps.
Seems that those who know him personal
have a deep respect and trust –
and them that cross his path
squinteyed of mind er heart soon learn
the ‘yesir’ part –
an’ there’s a story adrift
‘bout how he be a ‘Sir’ by right –
a knight I mean from ‘over there’ somewhere
afore he came to the diggin’s…
and I can attest to his doftin’ hat
to ladies fair and less;
an’ that he has a sword in the swirly cane,
and ain’t feared a nothin’.
I saw him but once, seein’ I was just passin’ through –
he was sittin’ ‘gainst the wall of the saloon –
tip back chair to enjoy the croud viewing,
but wasn’t drinkin’ – just kinda thinkin’ –
perhaps rememb’rin’ some gal or such –
an’ I called out ta see if he was up fer
joinin’ our game o’ cards ‘an chattin’.
said he’d pass on that, right friendly like –
the brought his chair next the table corner
and tossed a coin on the table
that spun in the lantern light …
“I’ll sweeten the pot though,
just to listen to your tales …
I always pay the ferryman.”
This lanky gent to my left got up and left –
just folded his cards and left his bet
and went a cursin’ out the door –
and that coin came to wobblin’ rest;
and middlin’ past Bob left too –
“to water his horse,” he said..
an’d the piano gal began singin’ a ballad,
‘bout how a man killed a gambler
fer cheatin’ in a pocker game
and had to hide in the shadows of time …
and why, fer me the phrase “yesirbob”
means “this deal is fair and done.”
but it’s a story anyways.
faucon
If we meet somewhere in passing
Please don’t nod or wave, don’t smile,
Do not in any way acknowledge me,
Much too late now for us to be old friends.
Those shards of glass or bone you see pitted
Deep into my face are the remnants
Of what you weren’t content to fracture
But had to shatter making clear
If you were not to be my chosen one
You would make certain no one would
Choose me.
If you hear of me, or where I am
Or who I’m with, please don’t think
You have the right to contact me:
Don’t pick up a telephone in the belief
That we will have a cozy chat and reminisce,
Share intimacies, be critical, make fun
Of last night’s dinner guests drinking too much
Or telling, yet again, stories of baby daughters
Adolescent sons; don’t even for a second
Imagine there will ever be a time when
I’ll forget that demonic, violent stare
And the way your eyes glared into mine
But failed to see the fear and terror
You engendered there, on that raw night;
The horror of what I saw in you
Comes back in dreams, crushes
Every semblance of trust I long to have;
You should be overjoyed,
You got your way;
So don’t be fretting that you’re missing out
On time with me;
Believe it, we’re together every day.
Jan
So now, let it go, let it go for me;
They cannot hurt you any more than this -
And you are loved so dear – it must not be
That you cling on to bitterest memory.
In my arms now, I ask of you
Can you try to put this to one side
And think no more of past hurt and past pain,
Will you try for me?
Do not keep this grief close to you heart -
Give what you can, and take, and even more
Bring your trust here, we give our welcome free;
And bring yourself - and what you want to be.
Jan
yeh, right! 
I had a free half-hour at work, so
papa
…………………………………………
moreless a Fitz
MORE and LESS
The words ‘more’ and ‘less’
capture the imagination;
being relative to most anything,
but denying totality of success.
Each person is ‘more’ in some way,
and always ‘less’ in others –
if only in their own perception
or duality of nature.
This ability to rank and order
sets us apart as human;
though the necessity questionable.
MORE or LESS
This common but self-abasing
statement of accountability
is a lazy by-word of many –
MORE or LESS interested in
politics, religion,
ecology or philosophy –
but unwilling to get beyond believing
into actually doing,
or knowing,
or being …
but that is a judgment too
that you could be ‘more’,
or somehow ‘less’
than I would choose.
MORE than LESS
Self-proclaimed leaders
would have you be absolute,
unto blind obedience,
about a cause, crusade or passion …
a cultist view
of politics, religion and all,
which is always destructive –
more than less …
Consider a far gentler world in which
a statement of inclusion such as:
‘Christian’ or ‘liberal’
simply meant
MORE than LESS,
with room for growing.
MORE of LESS
‘tis said that happiness
comes from contentment with what you have
rather than pursuit of having more …
yet, those who find awe
in simple things –
even innocence,
will always have more …
and “of what” not a valid question,
but an answer –
for those who understand need no explanation,
and those who do not,
none suffice.
MORE from LESS
Pity those who embrace
the limits of their world
as defining the universe …
and weep for they who imagine more
but accept less by decree of others …
run from those who cry ‘more’
while doing little to improve themselves …
and honor those who create –
making more of everything they touch,
accepting nothing less
from living.
I want to pay homage to those who have been here before
I want to remember that a name and a title doesn’t mean that I stop growing
I want to ask those who came before
To guide me on my life journey
And help to keep me humble
To teach me all that they’ve learned
How to help those around me
How to keep going when things get rough
And most of all how to gain wisdom enough
To pass on to my children
Who will one day be Elders too
by Stacey-Ann
Aside from adding a Sparrowgirl cafepress shop (www.cafepress.com/sparrowgirl), I’ve written some new stories. More finalized watercolour illustrations have started replacing the placeholder sketches.
stories at www.aletta.org/sparrowweb01.shtml
I seek my own ‘grey balance’, for reasons that ruin my sleep, and dim my personal light.
I write this in hope that I will find my calm once again.
The italicised words are faucon’s and I thank him for the loan of them.
faucon offered A and B as choices… I add my C to the mix, because I am The One who travels the Spirit Road to the Goddess.
A) I’d better get all that I can for myself before it’s too late.
B)I’d better help as many people as I can because it’s too late.
C) It is my duty and honour to leave a legacy of love, and the voice of Hope, so it won’t be too late.
A) I should become politically active and try to improve things.
B) I’m never going to vote because it doesn’t make any difference.
C) I will vote my conscience, always hoping that it will make a difference.
A) I’ll operate as if everything I hear is mostly lies.
B) I’ll operate as if everything I hear has some truth.
C) I will seek the truth in everything I touch, not allowing lies to take root in my spirit.
A) I’ll make all decisions for myself because nobody cares.
B)I’ll make no decisions for myself because nobady cares.
C)I will choose my actions after meditating on the ripples they create in the flow of Life.
A) I’ll immerse myself in an organised religion because I don’t wish to think.
B) I’ll avoid all religious choices because I don’t wish to think.
C) I will carry my faith as a banner, to bring light to those who seek it.
A) Being average is good and safe.
B) Being average is bad and a form of genocide.
C) Average is an illusion of numbers, and bears no stigma or honour.
A) Sex will play no part in how I run my life.
B) Sex will control every part of my life.
C) Sex has but two facets, masculine and feminine; I am a synthesis of both and acknowledge that lovemaking is beautiful and personal.
A) I will support ecology programs because somebody has to.
B) I care nothing about ecological programs because it won’t make any difference.
C) I will practice ecological awareness and support ecological programmes, because, while I may be just a drop, I am part of a larger entity and with them we can make a difference.
A) I will go toHeaven because anything will be better than this.
B) I don’t believe in Hell because it is here now.
C) We make our own Heaven or Hell through our beliefs and actions. What we call ‘Heaven’ is our First Home, the birthplace of all spirits. ‘Hell’ is a creation to force obedience from people.
Even know that we are all a part of forever does not quiet the fear and worry. It eats at me like rats, and never stills. It is as though the those feelings are a cruel trap, that I cannot free myself from until I know the truth behind the questions.
“Do I have cancer?”
“Has it metastisised already?”
“How much stress will this create for my loved ones?”
The only question I don’t ask is if I can handle this, I know I have the strength, intelligence, wisdom, and imagination to survive this, and continue to thrive.
Gwenguin
Whirling round,
with some surprise,
delight
The candlelight
brought pause,
a wish
Then rest in the glow
of excitement knowing
you are the princess today,
mother is the world
and all is possible
aletta mes
can’t seem to wrap my head around a story, but words just rattle around up there, wanting to be put down, so here then, are the loudest of them, arranged prettily, the photo taken today of Tish, who sat deep in thought (and exhaustion) during Maya’s birthday party.
aletta mes
posted by aletta mes
I am more and more distressed over the daily news,
especially the autrocities my country is committing
to profit but a few — while millions do not care
as long as their favorite team is ahead,
or a new video game is out –
“hope it’s a violent one!”
I dredeged up an old thought …
and expanded (papa faucon)
FUTILITARIANISM
All Americans, and perhaps all of the Western world, are secretly members of a psycho-religious cult. Though this alliance is not the result of an overt cognitive choice, it does pervade the decision making process, and the judgment, of those enrolled. This phenomenon was aptly described in the 60’s by Professor R.S. Griffin at the University of Nevada. It is recognized by the willingness of people to ascribe to its major tenants:
• The Futility of Life
• The Imbecility of Man
• The Basic Antagonism of Nature
• The Folly of Man’s Institutions
Taken alone, each of these could be shrugged off as a perverse attitude toward living in a complex world. Together they take one to the very depths of faith, value orientation and plans for personal growth. A concern for parents and educators is not whether life citizens will come to understand these precepts, but at what age their actualization will be stifled by these realities. This ‘cusp’ will often require a decision of the ‘road not taken’ variety, e.g.:
A) I’d better get all that I can for myself before it’s too late
B) I’d better help as many people as I can because it is too late
A) I should become politically active and try to improve things
B) I’m never going to vote because it doesn’t make any difference
A) I’ll operate as if everything I hear is mostly lies
B) I’ll operate as if everything I hear has some truth
A) I’ll make all decision for myself because nobody cares
B) I’ll make no decisions for myself because nobody cares
A) I’ll immerse myself in an organized religion because I don’t wish to think
B) I’ll avoid all religious choices because I don’t wish to think
A) Being average is good and safe
B) Being average is bad and a form of genocide
A) Sex will play no part in how I run my life
B) Sex will control every part of how I run my life
A) I will support ecology programs because somebody has to
B) I care nothing about ecological programs because it won’t make any difference
A) I will go to heaven because anything will be better than this
B) I don’t believe in hell because it is here now
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