ear to the wood

little attic bedroom, 7. 30 .12

mini midweek mix .v7.

1. Grey Seal - Elton John

2. North American Scum - LCD Soundsystem

3. Happy Day - Talking Heads

4. Bim-Bom - Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66

5. Desperation Breeds... - Andrew Bird

6. Shiny Happy People - R.E.M

7. Laughter In The Rain - Neil Sedaka

8. Les Plus Beaux - Francois & The Atlas Mountains

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

grandpa's boots, a poem

a poem I wrote about the passing on of stories and histories - how they become entrusted to those left behind, but slowly, over time, decrease in the telling and lose traction, until we push them further into the attic as younger stories are collected and retired.

a portrait

Ariana - by c.m. fiske
watercolors + melted ice, at herkimer coffee
7. 21. 12

life lately

Some cute flowers right outside my office.

Chelsea at the CHBP.

Fresh lettuce from my friend Connie's garden.

final words {on light}

To complete my posts on light, here is a 

humble bit of poetry I wrote a while back. 

Do enjoy.

______________________________________________________________

           Passing through the mountains

there I saw a monk

bathing in a fountain

I watched him as he sunk

Fast 

       I went to grab him

reaching for his arm

He sang a sparkling hymn of praise

showed no signs of alarm

His skin as smooth as     butter dust

slipping from my reach

light reflected from his flesh

like beams upon the beach

A warmth, I felt, 

as down 

              he 

                plunged,

unfolding from the air,

a gold that I could nearly taste

a lightness I could wear

What is this?

I whispered 

with breath of gilded flecks

light

I felt him sweetly say

And what is light?

I answered back

The source of every flame.

The thread of life is in us all

burning as a fire

joining every vital voice

it's weaving hand can sire

I'm charged by an electric yarn

that sparks within you too

A match that's calling to be lit

but is struck by just a few

A ray of light defies its death

when crashing to the sea

unsuspecting waves reflecting

shimmering debris

So burn strong now, but when death rears

your fear you must resist

for as the sunshaft on the swell,

your light, your love, persist.

Patient water

sealed him neatly

         holy commandant -

All remaining

radiating

were  ripples    on      the font. 

mini midweek mix .v6.

I'm a little late on this one - my apologies. Here is a grab bag of sorts ..... just like the fireworks above.

1. Don't Let Me Down - Michael McDonald

2. Bruce - North Highlands

3. How Do I Know - Here We Go Magic

4. Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings - Father John Misty

5. Greyhound Romance - Shimmering Stars

6. The Move - Beastie Boys

7. We Got The Beat - The Go-Go's

8. Make A Move On Me - Olivia Newton-John

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

scenes from the coast

Recently I was able to get away to the Oregon Coast. It was wonderful to knit, read, cook and laugh.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being

 

“The heaviest of burdens crushes us, we sink beneath it, it pins us to the ground. But in love poetry of every age, the woman longs to be weighed down by the man's body.The heaviest of burdens is therefore simultaneously an image of life's most intense fulfillment. The heavier the burden, the closer our lives come to the earth, the more real and truthful they become. Conversely, the absolute absence of burden causes man to be lighter than air, to soar into heights, take leave of the earth and his earthly being, and become only half real, his movements as free as they are insignificant. What then shall we choose? Weight or lightness?” 
-Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being


...Something to ponder. 


                   Here are some of my disjointed scrawlings on the matter:


I don't quite know what to say concerning where I stand on lightness. I am undeniably captivated and compelled by the idea of weight and meaning and consequence. But, more often than not, I find myself trying to shed that desire for weight in an attempt to experience 

                                                     what it means to be 

light.

I suppose my question for Kundera is this: Can't we be light, without being insignificant?

By virtue of the fact that we exist, are we not also implicitly significant, regardless of our lightness or weight?

Can we achieve lightness, without dismissing our significance? Or, is the surrender of any lingering suspicion (or hope) that our existence is born out of some great intention imperative for complete weightlessness?

Perhaps I am reading too broadly and Kundera is simply implying that one living outside the demands of weight and burden possesses a complete disregard for the consequences of action. And that we can chose this or not. The end.


  If this is the case, I think I'd feel awfully alone in a weightless world.

Perhaps my true folly lies in confusing lightness and heaviness with insignificance and significance. The subsequent folly being my preoccupation with the issue of meaning and significance altogether. Which brings me to this reflection: 
                                                                                we exist, and that is significant. and remarkable.

Implicit in our human experience is the possibility to  experience both weight and lightness. So like Kundera says, there is a choice.... I just don't think there's a right one. Each is a valuable experience. The complete experience of one or the other (weight or lightness), however, is unattainable for a person with even one toe in the opposite pond.

maybe the beauty is in the balance -

I think I'd rather have a little of both. It's how I approach 2 scoop ice cream cones. And, like I should but never say:

Life is ice cream. Sample every flavor.

?

___________ . ___________

As for the book: A really interesting and insightful read by a Czech author. Makes poetry out of the mundane, unsavory and vulnerable bits of human nature. Expect reflection. Expect plot that occasionally feels like filler, bridging awesome philosophical essay to awesome philosophical essay. Plot which does, however, serve to cultivate characters and context worth investing in, allowing for fuller appreciation of aforementioned essays. {investment worthy characters? yes. flawed and perhaps even unlikeable? that too.}         I recommend, if you haven't read it.

{Thank you for reading the 4th installment of my posts on light.}

mini midweek mix .v5.

1. Shuffle a Dream - Little Dragon
2. Wrong Opinion - Chairlift
3. A Chicken with Its Head Cut Off - The Magnetic Fields
4. Walkabout - Atlas Sound
5. Night Swim - Frankie Rose
6. Swing Lo Magellan - Dirty Projectors
7. Light Out, Words Gone - Bombay Bicycle Club
8. Pat's Solo - Pat Metheny (from Shadows and Light)

*click the image above to be redirected to the playlist on Spotify

ye olde luminance

old light bulb {watercolor, pen} - caffe fiore, ballard

I got distracted from my week of light posts
               so here is the next. Behold! Ye Olde Luminance!