The Inquisitive Skink

memories of soft sweet earth a constant thrumming trees backlit by morning moon

Please Call Me by My True Names By  Thich Nhat Hanh (1929 - ) Don't say that I will depart tomorrow -- even today I am still arriving. Look deeply: every second I am arriving to be a bud on a Spring branch, to be a tiny bird, with still-fragile wings, learning to sing in my new nest, to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower, to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone. I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry, to fear and to hope. The rhythm of my heart is the birth and death of all that is alive. I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river. And I am the bird that swoops down to swallow the mayfly. I am the frog swimming happily in the clear water of a pond. And I am the grass-snake that silently feeds itself on the frog. I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones, my legs as thin as bamboo sticks. And I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda. I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat, who throw...

looking upon the moonlit sky as though never seen before.... clouds wrap a hard heart softly  ~donna

A melancholy desire stakes me to the ground. Such babbling tales the river sings . Donna Storm July 2010

phantom memories taste like scorched dust sprinkled red on dreams sucked inward heat upon my tongue gives way to a dark yearning that won't show its face. .......................................Donna Storm

This poem by C.P.Cavafy (thank you to Margot for the link) continues the melancholy tone started by my post about Jannifer. I will perk up soon. These words are too lovely. Voices Imagined voices, and beloved, too, of those who died, or of those who are lost unto us like the dead. Sometimes in our dreams they speak to us; sometimes in its thought the mind will hear them. And with their sound for a moment there return sounds from the first poetry of our life— like music, in the night, far off, that fades away.

Indiana’s unemployment figures for January, released Friday, show Monroe County as having the second lowest jobless rate in the state. This comes as no surprise to those of us who work in social services. Many people are out there feeling like they are scraping their faces on the sidewalk pavement. I am hopeful that perhaps this shakedown in our economy will be what we need to reset our table correctly. One can only hope. It has been a tough week at work. Can't say much, other than that it can be tough working in the field of domestic violence. I don't know why I'm sitting here writing when my brain is fried and I started work at 5am this morning. Strange way to relax, huh? But before I sign off here are a few interesting tidbits to ponder. They do relate to my opening sentence, albeit from an odd angle. Tidbit 1 : While millions of families are losing their homes, jobs and health care, the military budget next year will top one trillion dollars — that’s $1,000...