I'm so tired of being tired
Sure as night will follow day
Most things that I worry 'bout
Never happen anyway....
---------
A good thing to remember on a day chock full of deadlines, lots of stuff to get done, and general grumpiness...
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
remembrance
The death of a library colleague after a long struggle with cancer has left me searching for words and thoughts that are more profound than the silly attempts at senryu I've been able to come up with so far.
So I return to an old favorite, Rainer Maria Rilke, and his poem "Remembrance". It's a good reminder to live in the now before the now becomes the past that you appreciate too late. I much prefer the original German,so I've included that at the end as well, after the jump.
And you wait, keep waiting for that one thing
which would infinitely enrich your life:
the powerful, uniquely uncommon,
the awakening of dormant stones,
depths that would reveal you to yourself.
In the dusk you notice the book shelves
with their volumes in gold and in brown;
and you think of far lands you journeyed,
of pictures and of shimmering gowns
worn by women you conquered and lost.
And it comes to you all of a sudden:
That was it! And you arise, for you are
aware of a year in your distant past
with its fears and events and prayers.
(Translated by Albert Ernest Flemming)
Erinnerung
Und du wartest, erwartest das Eine,
das dein Leben unendlich vermehrt;
das Mächtige, Ungemeine,
das Erwachen der Steine,
Tiefen, dir zugekehrt.
Es dämmern im Bücherständer
die Bände in Gold und Braun;
und du denkst an durchfahrene Länder,
an Bilder, an die Gewänder
wiederverlorener Fraun.
Und da weißt du auf einmal: das war es.
Du erhebst dich, und vor dir steht
eines vergangenen Jahres
Angst und Gestalt und Gebet.
(From Das Buch der Bilder)
So I return to an old favorite, Rainer Maria Rilke, and his poem "Remembrance". It's a good reminder to live in the now before the now becomes the past that you appreciate too late. I much prefer the original German,
And you wait, keep waiting for that one thing
which would infinitely enrich your life:
the powerful, uniquely uncommon,
the awakening of dormant stones,
depths that would reveal you to yourself.
In the dusk you notice the book shelves
with their volumes in gold and in brown;
and you think of far lands you journeyed,
of pictures and of shimmering gowns
worn by women you conquered and lost.
And it comes to you all of a sudden:
That was it! And you arise, for you are
aware of a year in your distant past
with its fears and events and prayers.
(Translated by Albert Ernest Flemming)
Erinnerung
Und du wartest, erwartest das Eine,
das dein Leben unendlich vermehrt;
das Mächtige, Ungemeine,
das Erwachen der Steine,
Tiefen, dir zugekehrt.
Es dämmern im Bücherständer
die Bände in Gold und Braun;
und du denkst an durchfahrene Länder,
an Bilder, an die Gewänder
wiederverlorener Fraun.
Und da weißt du auf einmal: das war es.
Du erhebst dich, und vor dir steht
eines vergangenen Jahres
Angst und Gestalt und Gebet.
(From Das Buch der Bilder)
even IT managers get the blues
I'm calling in well
spend time at home with my boys -
too bad, a nice daydream...
spend time at home with my boys -
too bad, a nice daydream...
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
about yesterday (for Van)
really a bad day
when you can't friggin' think of
three short lines of verse
when you can't friggin' think of
three short lines of verse
Monday, February 18, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
habit forming
Hmm. This daily poem thing is harder than I thought.
Determined I am
ev'ry day a poem to write
help me Obi Wan
update: this has to be just about the lamest "poem" ever written. But at least I got something written that day. :)
Determined I am
ev'ry day a poem to write
help me Obi Wan
update: this has to be just about the lamest "poem" ever written. But at least I got something written that day. :)
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Monday, February 11, 2008
against complacency
I have occasional reason to rant or scratch my head about complacency, or -more broadly- fear of change, in instances where change might well be warranted (or at least worth exploring) but the force of inertia or unexamined assumptions & fears prevents anything from happening.
With this in mind, the prayer below, posted by a member of an educational technology discussion list --in a thread about Second Life & campus reactions-- seems really appropriate. Thanks to D.I. Von Briesen for posting it:
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
attributed - sir francis drake -1577
With this in mind, the prayer below, posted by a member of an educational technology discussion list --in a thread about Second Life & campus reactions-- seems really appropriate. Thanks to D.I. Von Briesen for posting it:
Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
attributed - sir francis drake -1577
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Saturday, February 9, 2008
And away we go...
New blog, first post, new approach. Not such much child blog for the grandparents, more musings, attempts to reconnect with creativity, and the like. We'll see...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)