blest are the fairy hour, the twilight shadeof ev'ning wand'ring thro her woodlands dear;sweet the still sound that steals along the glade;'tis fancy wafts it, and her vot'ries hear.
Friday, May 31, 2013
the fairy hour
Thursday, May 30, 2013
late spring sky
the view up the rise and onto the playing fields at my school as i leave for home on a late spring day . . .
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
all you do
the best stories are handed on by the wise and kindly
now is the time to know
that all that you do is sacred.
hafiz
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
each seed a moment
seeds scattered on the stairs to my front porch
each a tree in waiting
so like each moment as it arrives and departs
changed
or unchanged
as the moment demands
and i stand
humble and arrogant all at once
looking at these scattered moments
each waiting for the sun wind water and earth
of my presence
to bring life to -
or to sweep away
with my indifference
Monday, May 27, 2013
Sunday, May 26, 2013
this that i call life
this
these
when i stop
moving forward
drawn by time
pushed by memory
and let this single moment
this small space
become everything
even for an instant
i am reminded of all that i hold dear and true
and feel the completeness
of the transitory
the waterworn
the windblown
the earthborn
the holding still for this
that i call life
Saturday, May 25, 2013
this is what i know . . .
the angels have bowed down to you and drowned
your soul in being, past all sound –
do not despise yourself, for there is none
who could with you sustain comparison;
do not torment yourself — your soul is all,
your body but a fleeting particle.
this all will clarify, and in its light
each particle will shine, distinctly bright –
as flesh remains an agent of the soul,
your soul’s an agent of the sacred whole.
but “part” and “whole” must disappear at last;
the way is one, and number is surpassed.
a hundred thousand clouds above you press;
their rain is pure, unending happiness;
and when the desert blooms with flowers, their scent
and beauty minister to your content;
the prayers of all the angels, all they do,
all their obedience, God bestows on you.
farid ud-din attar (persia, 12th century)
english version by afkham darbandi and dick davis
Friday, May 24, 2013
roads go ever on
a quiet backroad in prince edward county, ontario
roads go ever ever on,
over rock and under tree,
by caves where never sun has shone,
by streams that never find the sea;
roads go ever ever on
under cloud and under star,
yet feet that wandering have gone
turn at last to home afar.
j.r.r. tolkien
Thursday, May 23, 2013
i know
as well
as any other
i know you
much less than most
this place
and this you
and now you
much more
than any
this flower
this self
in my eyes
decayed and fallen
still
beautiful
in my eyes
decayed and fallen
still
beautiful
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
let the beauty we love be what we do . . .
don't open the door to the study and begin reading.
take down a musical instrument.
let the beauty we love be what we do.
there are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
rumi
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
a light left on
Into our yellow room,
For a moment taken aback
To find the light left on,
Falling on silent flowers,
Table, book, empty chair
While we had gone elsewhere,
Had been away for hours.
excerpted from "a light left on" by may sarton
Monday, May 20, 2013
Sunday, May 19, 2013
the first condition of work
you can wander and watch and wonder under all manner of skies and never know the unconditional love that is this place . . . the first condition of work . . . .
a respectful and considerate awe for my place in this wholeness.
Saturday, May 18, 2013
and then a sunburst . . .
rounding little lake on my bike i passed this line of yellow tulips
mouths pursed
each in a row
expectant
and i wondered at this
why?
why rows?
i put my bike down and lay on my tummy on the ground and watched the sky change from their perspective. it carried rain this morning and then . . .
Friday, May 17, 2013
a secret sky
rumi
Thursday, May 16, 2013
she said "purdy", well, i thought of al . . .
look down on myself from above
then front and both sides
it's really not very surprising
that love spoken by my voice
should be when I am listening
and how explain that?
a still pool in the forest
remains a sort of half-love
that is akin to kindness
excerpted (and reassembled) from al purdy "listening to myself"
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
where i go . . .
after difficult days or even on days when i feel the need to be as alone as alone can be simply so i can gather my self together . . .
i head to a cemetery near my school that has the otonabee river flowing right beside it . . . the trees, the sky, the river and the peacefulness never fail to heal . . .
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
beauty all around
i look up . . .
i look down . . .
i cannot imagine, even for one moment that i get to share my life with these beautiful creatures on land that i can call "my own"!
my own?!
ha! naaaaahhh. we're sharing this . . . . .
Monday, May 13, 2013
Sunday, May 12, 2013
my mum!
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
golden fish
my classroom aquarium has five goldfish - designated "feeder fish" - i bought them a couple of years ago and paid a quarter a piece i think. they have lived in the class since then and each summer i put them in a tupperware container on the back of my bike and take them home to their summer aquarium. then i pack them back up in the fall and they head back to the more spacious accomodations of room 212!! the hearts - algae of course!!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
the blogger as a middle aged man
i came across this self-portrait and recognized the man for who he is and even something of who he will become.
there is of course a space between those two states. i can tell you, he is acutely aware of what it will cost him to draw those two states together!
there is in him the capacity to effect change at a micro level right now. he teaches, he fundraises for a couple of very worthy causes. one a medical condition called huntington's disease, the other to support a small but healthy community in malawi.
that there is more possible and still to come is something he is entirely aware of. what stands between him and that state?
faith, conviction, and time.
first to get his earthly matters into a form that supports this work to be becoming. and then? well the expansion of something he has known as a teacher for a number of years now . . .
i myself cannot articulate the form or features of the future becoming present beyond my knowing that my work to this point has been entirely worthy and good, while also knowing that it is a form of preparation for something that is already reaching back from the future and pulling me closer.
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
spring trees
i heard the low hum of insect life, and felt the balmy air of a spring morning fanning my cheek. gradually it assumed a rhythmic flow, to whose soft pulsations my body seemed to respond.
jack london (excerpted from "a thousand deaths")
Monday, May 6, 2013
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Thursday, May 2, 2013
riding and life
the fifty five years and eight months old rider chugs north of peterborough with the wind behind him, knowing full well that as in life, the wind will be waiting for him when he turns back!!! no matter, it's too beautiful to get caught up in the wish i may wish i mights of life and riding. i look around and i see goodness and beauty! i thank God for that!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
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