Back in my room I located some tubes of Nescafé and a small electric pot. I made my own coffee, wrapped myself in a blanket, opened the sliding doors and sat on the little patio facing the sea. There was a low wall partially obstructing the view, but I had my coffee, could hear the waves and was reasonably content.
~ Patti Smith, Year of the Monkey (Alfred A. Knopf, September 24, 2019)
Photo: heytess
I sat on my patio, wrapped in a blanket…when I noticed that my room was not on the ground floor but on the subfloor beneath, making it closer to the edge where the beach began…I turned on the radio and Nina Simone was singing I Put a Spell on You. The seals were silent, and I could hear the waves in the distance, winter on the West Coast. I sank into bed and slept heavily.
~ Patti Smith, Year of the Monkey (Alfred A. Knopf, September 24, 2019)
Photo: Dream Inn Santa Cruz, CA by Angelo DeSantis
lift of water,
bracing
smooth—
a lubricant
to be part of
this synchrony,
able to lean
on others, ride
the breastbone
of a bird,
without wings or
even a feather.
~ Diane DeCillis, from “To Lean”
Notes: Poem – Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels). Photo: via Mennyfox55.
Here is how I spend my days now.
I live in a beautiful place.
I sleep in a beautiful bed.
I eat beautiful food.
I go for walks through beautiful places.
I care for people deeply…
I cry easily, from pain and pleasure, and I don’t apologize for that.
In the mornings I step outside and I’m thankful for another day.
It took me many years to arrive at such a life.
~ Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen: A Novel
Notes:
A pelican caught a fish during feeding time in St. James’s Park in London Wednesday. (Photo: Hannah McKay, wsj.com August 23, 2019)
Let my words become like a skilled
Potter’s hands,
Quieting,
Smoothing your life
With their knowledge,
Reaching into your tender core
And spreading you out
Like the morning …
~ Hafiz (1315-1390), from “Your Shape of Laughter” in “The Subject Tonight Is Love. 60 Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz”
Photo: katrinauld. Poem via finita–la–commedia
Oh, the coming-out-of-nowhere moment
when, nothing
happens
no what-have-I-to-do-today-list
maybe half a moment
the rush of traffic stops.
The whir of I should be, I should be, I should be
slows to silence,
the white cotton curtains hanging still.
~ Marie Howe, “The Moment” (via Poets.org)
Photo: Eylül Aslan
> > > > NOTE: Press arrow on right center of photo to advance to video.
You tell me to live each day
as if it were my last. This is in the kitchen
where before coffee I complain
of the day ahead – that obstacle race
of minutes and hours,
grocery stores and doctors.
But why the last? I ask. Why not
live each day as if it were the first –
all raw astonishment, Eve rubbing
her eyes awake that first morning,
the sun coming up
like an ingénue in the east?
You grind the coffee
with the small roar of a mind
trying to clear itself. I set
the table, glance out the window
where dew has baptized every
living surface.
– Linda Pastan, “Imaginary Conversation” from Insomnia: Poems
Notes: Poem – Thank you Whiskey River. Photo: (via Your Eyes Blaze Out)
On the other hand, you could just relax and realize that, behind all the worry, complaint and disapproval that goes on in your mind, the sun is always coming up in the morning, moving across the sky, and going down in the evening. The birds are always out there collecting their food and making their nests and flying across the sky. The grass is always being blown by the wind or standing still. Food and flowers and trees are growing out of the earth. There’s enormous richness. You could envelop your passion for life and your curiosity and your interest. You could connect with your joyfulness. You could start right now.
~ Pema Chodron, The Wisdom of No Escape: And the Path of Loving Kindness
Notes: Quote – Thank you Beth @ Alive on All Channels. Portrait of Chodron
