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wednesday interlude

~ jama ~ 12 Comments

Ready for a break?

Then sip your coffee or tea, and lean back in your chair.

This lovely song, written and performed by Keali’i Reichel, makes me long for Hawai’i, and will transport you to a calm and peaceful place.  Hold on to that good feeling for the rest of the day.

Here are the lyrics:

E O Mai
by Keali’i Reichel

Kâua i ka wai
Wai olohia o Kahualoa
Kokôhi i ka wai puhia
E ku`u aloha, e ô mai

Kaomi i ka wai
Wai mâpuna hâ`ale i ka poli
Pahe`e i ka wai lohia
E ku`u aloha, e ô mai

Puhemo i ka wai
Wai welawela hô`eha i ka ili
E inu i ka wai a kena
E ku`u aloha, e ô mai

English translation:

We two in the water
The sighing waters of Kahualoa
Hold back that driven current
O my love, answer me

Restrain those waters
Surging wellsprings, stirring the heart
Glide on those waters as they sparkle
O my love, acknowledge me

Then, release the torrent
Waters of passion, burning the skin
Indulge until you are satiated
O my beloved, respond to me.

friday feast: do you really have to choose?

~ jama ~ 21 Comments

 

YOU WANT A SOCIAL LIFE, WITH FRIENDS
by Kenneth Koch

You want a social life, with friends,
A passionate love life and as well
To work hard every day. What’s true
Is of these three you may have two
And two can pay you dividends
But never may have three.

There isn’t time enough, my friends–
Though dawn begins, yet midnight ends–
To find the time to have love, work, and friends.
Michelangelo had feeling
For Vittoria and the Ceiling
But did he go to parties at day’s end?

Homer nightly went to banquets
Wrote all day but had no lockets
Bright with pictures of his Girl.
I know one who loves and parties
And has done so since his thirties
But writes hardly anything at all.
~ from Straits (Knopf, 2000).

When I saw this poem in Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s memoir, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life (Three Rivers Press, 2005), it prompted me to reassess the choices I have made in my own life.

For me, love and friends are absolute necessities. Without them, how and where would I find the heart to write? But have I ever made writing a priority to the total exclusion of either love or friends?

*Squirms in chair*

In order to excel at what you do, no matter what line of work you’re in, sacrifices have to be made. I get that. Yet it seems writers, in particular, sacrifice something every minute of every day.

Writing is lonely; when you’re doing it, you miss your friends, and opportunities to make new friends.

When you’re with your loved ones, you feel guilty because you should be writing. If you don’t feel guilty, you sometimes wonder whether you should.

There really is no such thing as a non-writing activity. Everything you do (eating, breathing, reading, walking) affects your work in one way or another. And what about that little voice in your head who keeps whispering, “procrastination”?

As for me, I’ve written way more than I’ve partied. So, where are the promised dividends? What’s missing from the equation are factors I can’t control, which is pretty much everything but the actual writing.

Maybe I need to work on redefining “dividends.”

I’ll never understand why, in order to write true to life, you have to remove yourself from it.

In future, please remind me not to read any more poems by Mr. Koch.

 

The Roundup today is at Author Amok, (thank god I’m not alone in my amokness). Check out the fine poems being shared today — that is, if you can afford to socialize.

the beckoning of lovely

~ jama ~ 7 Comments

Back in September, crcook posted a truly lovely and cooler than cool 7-minute video called, "The Beckoning of Lovely." It totally caught me by surprise, chased my evil, cynical tendencies out the window, and made my heart flutter with hope.

Making things. Creativity. Coming together. Sharing. Good vibes all around.

The woman in the video arrived on the scene with her yellow umbrella, and in a few hours, changed the lives of everyone there. Strangers worked together to "make an 18th lovely thing." I admired the young woman’s ingenuity and spontaneous, free-spirited social experiment.

Continue reading →

friday feast: in case you need a little chuckle

~ jama ~ 32 Comments

 

THE TWELVE THANK-YOU NOTES OF CHRISTMAS
by Anonymous

Dec 25
My dearest darling Edward,
What a wonderful surprise has just greeted me! That sweet partridge, in that lovely little pear-tree; what an enchanting, romantic, poetic present! Bless you, and thank you.
Your deeply loving
Emily.

Dec. 26
Beloved Edward,
The two turtle-doves arrived this morning, and are cooing away in the pear-tree as I write. I’m so touched and grateful!
With undying love, as always,
Emily.

Dec. 27
My darling Edward,
You do think of the most original presents! Who ever thought of sending anybody three French hens? Do they really come all the way from France? It’s a pity we have no chicken coops, but I expect we’ll find some. Anyway, thank you so much; they’re lovely.
Your devoted Emily.

Dec. 28
Dearest Edward,
What a surprise! Four calling birds arrived this morning. They are very sweet, even if they do call rather loudly – they make telephoning almost impossible – but I expect they’ll calm down when they get used to their new home. Anyway, I’m very grateful, of course I am.
Love from Emily.

Dec. 29
Dearest Edward,
The mailman has just delivered five most beautiful gold rings, one for each finger, and all fitting perfectly! A really lovely present! Lovelier, in a way, than birds, which do take rather a lot of looking after. The four that arrived yesterday are still making a terrible row, and I’m afraid none of us got much sleep last night. Mother says she wants to use the rings to “wring” their necks. Mother has such a sense of humor. This time she’s only joking, I think, but I do know what she means. Still, I love the rings.
Bless you,
Emily.

Dec. 30
Dear Edward,
Whatever I expected to find when I opened the front door this morning, it certainly wasn’t six socking great geese laying eggs all over the porch. Frankly, I rather hoped that you had stopped sending me birds. We have no room for them, and they’ve already ruined the croquet lawn. I know you meant well, but let’s call a halt, shall we?
Love,
Emily.

Dec. 31
Edward,
I thought I said NO MORE BIRDS. This morning I woke up to find no more than seven swans, all trying to get into our tiny goldfish pond. I’d rather not think what’s happened to the goldfish. The whole house seems to be full of birds, to say nothing of what they leave behind them, so please, please, stop!
Your Emily.

Jan 1
Frankly, I prefer the birds. What am I to do with eight milkmaids? And their cows! Is this some kind of a joke? If so, I’m afraid I don’t find it very amusing.
Emily.

Jan. 2
Look here, Edward,
This has gone far enough. You say you’re sending me nine ladies dancing. All I can say is, judging from the way they dance, they’re certainly not ladies. The village just isn’t accustomed to seeing a regiment of shameless viragos, with nothing on but their lipstick, cavorting round the green, and it’s Mother and I who get the blame. If you value our friendship, which I do (less and less), kindly stop this ridiculous behavior at once!
Emily.

Jan 3
As I write this letter, ten disgusting old men are prancing up and down all over what used to be the garden, before the geese and the swans and the cows got at it. And several of them, I have just noticed, are taking inexcusable liberties with the milkmaids. Meanwhile the neighbors are trying to have us evicted. I shall never speak to you again.
Emily.

Jan 4
This is the last straw! You know I detest bagpipes! The place has now become something between a menagerie and a madhouse, and a man from the council has just declared it unfit for habitation. At least Mother has been spared this last outrage; they took her away yesterday afternoon in an ambulance to a home for the bewildered. I hope you’re satisfied.

Jan. 5
Sir,
Our client, Miss Emily Wilbraham, instructs me to inform you that with the arrival on her premises at 7:30 this morning of the entire percussion section of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and several of their friends, she has no course left open to her but to seek an injunction to prevent you importuning her further. I am making arrangements for the return of much assorted livestock.
I am, Sir, yours faithfully,
G. Creep
Attorney at law.

December 12
Dear Poetry Lovers,
The lovely and talented Elaine Magliaro is hosting the roundup today at Wild Rose Reader. Thank you so much!
Ever Yours,
Jama

booksigning alert!

~ jama ~ 4 Comments

If you live in the Northern Virginia area, take note:

WHAT: Booksigning with Maha Addasi, 
           author of The White Nights of Ramadan

WHEN: Saturday, December 13, 12 – 4 p.m.

WHERE: Barnes & Noble, Fair Lakes Promenade
              (address and directions here).

     

Hope you’ll take this opportunity to meet Maha. There’s nothing more special than a signed book as a holiday gift. In case you missed my interview with Maha, click here. I also reviewed The White Nights of Ramadan here.

I’m definitely going to be there. Hope to see you!!