I
Feathered grasses float before
A chipped door, eight decades old.
Old, ornate, many-windowed:
Our house, hoard for handy-men.
I’m just six; I cross cracked tiles
To where Grandma’s washing walls.
Gray-grimed walls, once gilt-papered
Are streaked now by soap and silt.
Her hard-worked hands halt halfway -
She feels me standing; turns, and smiles.
II
Twice we moved; I turned eighteen.
At her table Grandma sat
All day, with [...]
Archive for July, 2008
Poem XXI: My Grandmother’s Smile
Posted in Poems, tagged Age, Beauty, Grandma, Grandma's House, Grandmother, Grandparents, Growing Up, Memories, Memory, Old Houses, Remembering, Smile, Smiles, Smiling on July 31, 2008 | 4 Comments »
A Conversation About Things That Bow Down
Posted in Literature, Orthodox Christianity, tagged Bow, Conversations, Courtesy, Creation, Form, God, Heaven, Humility, Meaning, Poetic, Shape, Sky on July 28, 2008 | 2 Comments »
A: If our world had been formed and filled by some lesser god, I think he would have made the vast mistake of laboring with too straight a back.
His steely arrowed finger would stab the depths, jolting them to fertility. Then he’d raise his dripping arm, and glaring across the sudden plains, he’d loose a lightning lash of life.
Oh, I have some idea in what anguished, [...]
Waiting for My Baby to Fall Asleep
Posted in Miscellaneous on July 25, 2008 | 5 Comments »
Note: for tips on getting babies to sleep click here.
Baby is in bed but not sleeping. I feel what I always feel at this time of day – that if I don’t get at least 45 minutes sleep I will go insane. And it’s true a little, but only a little. Stayed up too late [...]
Help Me Find a Book and a Poem
Posted in Questions, tagged Book, Help, Inquiry, Literature, Novels, Poetry, Question, Readers, Reading on July 21, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I wonder if any readers could help me find either a book or a poem I recall reading. I’m wondering if they are as good as I remember their being – one’s taste changes.
The book was about a girl who discovers a colony of Lilliputians living on a little island on her estate. There’s a [...]
A High View of the Inspiration of Scripture
Posted in Literature, Orthodox Christianity, tagged Athanasius, Bible, Chant, Chanting, Christian Music, Christianity, Church, Church Music, Inspiration, Music, Old Books, Orthodoxy, Poetry, Psalms, Scripture, Singing, Singing Psalms, Song, Theology, Theories of Inspiration, Verbal Plenary Inspiration on July 20, 2008 | 6 Comments »
“Deamons fear the words of holy men and cannot bear them; for the Lord Himself is in the Words of Scripture and him they cannot bear.”
(Words from Athanasius On the Interpretation of the Psalms.)
I think this is what you might call a sacramental view of scripture, and I do find it a “higher” view than [...]
Cheap Spicy Soup with Meat – Culinary Tips From the Women’s Network
Posted in Food, Women's Network, tagged Cheap, Chili, Con Carne, Eating, Economical, Food Preparation, Inexpensive, Kitchen Tips, Meat, Money, Recipes, Saving Money on July 19, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
I am no culinary expert but I can’t help sharing my discoveries.
I’ve always loved American chili, but often found the thick consistency and over-meatiness to be a bit much. Overwhelming, and not so complex in the flavor department.
Here’s a lovely soup to make with chili beans and meat, that’s actually inexpensive and much lighter in flavor [...]
Folk Poem II: My Love Was Wondering
Posted in Music, Poems, tagged Folk, Folk Poem, Folk Poetry, Folk Songs, Love Songs, Song, Songs on July 13, 2008 | 6 Comments »
Video Link
My love was wondering where I’d gone
He sought me long and weeping
But fellow travellers had I none
Save there were cliff-vines creeping
I wished him daring by my side
And bitter was my feeling
Alone I slashed a dragon’s hide
With bats around me wheeling
At last I fell, as fall I must
For I was fighting lonely
I crashed against the planet’s [...]
The Pointlessness of Human Existence
Posted in Life, tagged Asking Why, Creation, Ecclesiastes, Existence, Free Will, God, Hope, Hopeless, Human Existence, Humans, Illusion, Insanity, Madness, Pointlessness, Purpose, Questions, Sanity, The Preacher, Vanity, Vanity of Vanities on July 12, 2008 | 21 Comments »
Some people are perpetually amused at the world. They see clearly the faults of humanity and find them food for laughter. Other may think they are unkind, but there’s a different sort of kindness in them for doing no more than laugh at us.
Others are simple; they take life as a gift and don’t care [...]
On Duty, Floor Plans, and Ants
Posted in Life, tagged Ants, Cyncism, Duty, Floor Plans, Middle Class, Moving, Pleasure, Poem, Poetry, Society, Unpacking on July 8, 2008 | 2 Comments »
As I look around at the unpacked, unsorted stacks of cds, old diaries, pillows, and toys which I ought to be finding a place for, I want to mention the pleasure of doing one’s duty.
There are two possible reasons, in my case, for accomplishing anything. The first is that I seek achievment, the boast of [...]
-
Recent Comments - My Gracious Readers and Me
Category Cloud
Archives
-
Blog Stats
- 29,715 hits
