Tuesday, dark and damp. Maybe it is mid-winter optimism, but I thought I detected a light orange glow to the morning sky on the drive in. The early signs of lengthening days? Lots of wind and driven rain again last night, several folks without power as a result. We were lucky, with only a momentary loss of power. Just long enough to have to go around the house and reset everything with a digital clock.
Today is the first day of winter quarter on campus, so the campus will be buzzing with life, as it should be. A new quarter, a new year, old goals, new goals, the same clinging challenges (no respecters of calendar labels), and old resolutions made anew. These are the seasonings of the stew of this season. Spice covers the gaminess of the meat, goals lend purpose and focus to the depth of winter. Or do they?
May I recommend a poem for this new year? Fittingly titled, New Year's Day, by Kim Addonizo, this poem has a pace and imagery I relate to. If you have ever crossed a winter-bogged field or cow pasture in boots early in the morning, this poem will resonate. It may be set in Virginia, but could just as easily be set here on any of the small dairy farms of the Pacific Northwest. Like the poet (quoting only a fragment of the poem here; do follow the link above to read the whole!),
Today I want
to resolve nothing.
I only want to walk
a little longer in the cold
blessing of the rain,
and lift my face to it.
A momentary interruption in power is much easier to deal with than an extended power outage, even though both reset the clocks. Sometimes a new year is most easily appreciated as a new day, followed by a new day, followed by a new day...
The full playlist:
- Sigur Rós: Viorar Vel Til Loftarasa
- Frank Sinatra: I've Got You Under My Skin
- Peter Doherty: A Little Death Around the Eyes
- Sigur Rós: Mistur
- Phil Keaggy: Overture (for guitar and orchestra)
Posted via Hermes.
1 comment:
As usual, both articulate and inspirational!
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