The cats have run away to hide,They do not wish to go for a ride.“Oh no, I won’t!” the wise cat sings–“Rides generally arrive at unpleasant thingslike trimming of claws and shots in the assand minor surgeries… Thanks, I’ll pass!”The cats are crouching in unlikely placeswith wide opal eyes and resentful faces.Under the sofa they’d …
Author Archives: Ciel
Dreaming
I saw a vision, riding highup in the mansions of the sky…I saw bright waters running wild;And stars in the eyes of a magic child.I witnessed dancing Elven folkAnd heard the solemn raven croakIn ancient woods, still, dark and deep–All of this, I saw in sleep.. I heard the yearning Elven song,And soldiers …
Breaking the Heat
The wind is blowing–cool air comes down out of the mountains,night comes over the skyfilled with clouds. Summer heat flees on the wind,last of the summer darkenswith the end of the day. Curtains billow like sailsout into the airand in again, floating on the windon its changes. I turn off the fans,false winds,open all the windows,all …
Autumn Storm
The earth does what it doesand always has– Storm bellowing,Flood rushing,And the reeds bend;Trees sway and sometimesgo roots up;The waters wildsweep the landforgetting former bankserasing damsthe diligent beaver built. _____________________ The tempest swoops inoff the oceanwhere it trained,charginglike a heavyweightout of his corner,Knocksthe ancient weather vanea-tizzy,sets its poniesrunning circlesin the wind;Slapsthe lastof autumn’s fireoff the …
A Shire Reverie
A gathering of stones,of mortar and affection:warmed by April sun,a drift of fragrance–cow’s breath and old hay,ripe cheese, pale grasses,the lightest scent of blossomand the lingerance of snow,and second breakfast hearth-smoke… Distant crows wheeling, crying, cawing,coarsely calling admirationof the new-turned turf,of turning season,of turning, turning, turningin the sky above the oaks… The distant touch of …
Pioneer Cafe, Montana Morning
Ladies of a Certain Agegirls no moreexcept in the heart:What Life has givenyou have takendespite the dreams you had,despite intentions and resistance;Age acquiring resiliencefor survival’s sakewhen life is hardor dull beyond endurance. Power in the circlearound the cafe tableevery morning, every dayexcept Sundays, maybe:Ladies, old and agingsocializing despite,because of Life;finding, making, sharing power’round this table…and resilience,endurance,and amusement–even some days, …
LONG ISLAND SUMMERS
I’d go backfor just a moment,perhaps as longas one day and a night,enough, I think,to relish what I lovedabout Long Island summers: Scents of ragweed,seared grasses,almost-too-sweet rosesin the heavy summer air… Glittering waters,hot, hot sandand tiny shellshiding in the dryingseaweed margin of the tide… Early morningssun like a glowing peachsoft-lit hazy cool’til nearly 10… And …
Calm Down, Dems!
The intensity of the Dems freaking out over Biden’s poor performance on the ‘debate’ stage is directly related to the intensity of fear and loathing they–and many of us–feel at the possibility of the Republicans’ succeeding in the culmination of their long-game authoritarian take-over of America. They’ve been working in the shadows, and not very …
Surrender Is Not an Option
I was thinking about the writers of the US Constitution. They didn’t have everything right, like not actually recognizing that women and people of color are actually whole human beings, and they were mostly all slave-holders. But they were the most educated men of their time. They were philosophically sophisticated, very broad-minded for their time. …
Tribalism is killing us.
It’s all very well to have your own tribe, to build it up and maintain it with your own beliefs and ideas about who you are and what is your relationship with your universe, your deities, the other people you share the world with. It is beautiful to celebrate your worldview with dances and art, …
LOOSELY SPEAKING... 