admittedly sad poetry on the last day of vacation

Today is the last day of my visit to California.

I have enjoyed seeing my grandkids quite a bit. Getting away from my little town has helped me gain a small bit of perspective. I have had time to read, reflect and relax. But I am looking forward to the return trip with Eileen.

I seem to be reading sad poetry online this morning.

Some of the ones I like:

Horse Horse Hyphen Hyphen?
BY MARILYN CHIN
I hate, I love, I don’t know how
I’m biracial, I’m torn in two

Tonight, he will lock me in fear
In the metal detector of love

Rapeflowers, rapeseeds, rapiers
A soldier’s wry offerings

more

MyKillAdoreHer
BY PAUL MARTINEZ POMPA
That Lucia broke the machine twice in one week was evidence enough. He also offered this—she’s no longer automatic, her stitches are crooked and once another seamstress found Lucia’s “lost” sewing patterns in the trash. The security guard half listened as Lucia gathered her things. Then the manager turned directly to her—what is it with you? We give you work, put money in your pocket. She put on her best disappointed face as they escorted her past rows of itchy throats, bowed heads, the refrain of needle through fabric.

link

“Weep You No More, Sad Fountains”
BY ANONYMOUS

Weep you no more, sad fountains;
What need you flow so fast?
Look how the snowy mountains
Heaven’s sun doth gently waste.
more

This is all of this poem:

Let me not thirst with this Hock at my Lip
BY EMILY DICKINSON

Let me not thirst with this Hock at my Lip,
Nor beg, with domains in my pocket—
link

“Hope” is the thing with feathers
BY EMILY DICKINSON
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –

more

Gracious Living ‘Tara’ ?
BY TOM RAWORTH
lonely as four cherries on a tree
at night, new moon, wet roads
a moth or a snowflake
whipping past glass

more

Admittedly sad poetry. But these poems seem to fit my mood.

Here’s a bit more from Chairs are Where the People Go

To learn to play charades, you have to learn to enjoy yourself while trying to communicate with people who don’t understand you and don’t know what you know.

I’m pretty sure Glouberman and his Boswell, Heti, clearly see Charades as not only a fun activity in and of itself, but also an analogy to effective human communication.

The chapter on Charades is full of observations on communication. I quite like it.
more from this chapter:

“When you’re acting out a clue for another person, it’s really important to remember that the other person does not know what you’re acting out. This seems obvious, but a lot of the time, people will act out a charade in a way which would make perfect sense if you knew what the title was, but from which the title would be completely impossible to guess if you didn’t know it. This seems like a trivial point, but it’s important. It means that, if at all possible, you shouldn’t get angry at the other person for not knowing what it is you’re trying to act out.”

and

“[E]veryone involved is [in]… dialogue. That is, it’s your job to respond to each other. So, as the guesser, throw lots of guesses at the person acting out the clue, because this allows them to change what they are doing, or lets you know if you’re on the right or wrong track.”

This is actually a pretty clear description of “reflective listening.”

Finally

“Playing charades is specifically about the difficulty of communication. Without the difficulty, there is no game. With practice you could get better at communicating through the obstacles that charades presents you, but that’s not really the point. It’s a game, so the point is not the elimination of obstacles—it’s enjoying yourself.”

This has been a learning vacation for me. I garnered some insights and food for thought not only from Glouberman, but also Doris Kearns Goodwin and Charles Lakoff.

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Google+ Improves on Facebook
By DAVID POGUE
Published: July 13, 2011

I have signed up for Google+ and Pogue points out some salient advantages to it. I will watch to see if many of the people I care about migrate to using it. So far it’s pretty sporadic.

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New Service Offers Music in Quantity, Not by Song
By BEN SISARIO
Published: July 13, 2011

I also emailed a request to use this service for free. (link) I hope they have classical music as well as popular. I could see subscribing to this service if it’s selection is wide enough for my tastes.

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The Republican Case for Compromise
By AL HOFFMAN Jr.
Published: July 13, 2011

Compromise keeps looking like the only way forward for the government. But it also keeps looking like a very long shot.

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