Good afternoon,
Self-Portrait by Mary Oliver
I wish I was twenty and in love with life
and still full of beans.
Onward, old legs!
There are the long, pale dunes; on the other side
the roses are blooming and finding their labor
no adversity to the spirit.
Upward, old legs! There are the roses, and there is the sea
shining like a song, like a body
I want to touch
though I’m not twenty
and won’t be again but ah! seventy. And still
in love with life. And still
full of beans.
I seem to retreat to Mary Oliver often. Besides history books, I only took one poetry book of Mary Oliver, Felicity, to Europe and Jordan. She seems to have the words I need at this stage of life, and for the last five years too. The Psalmist is that kind of writer for me too. Poets always paint pictures out of their lives and experiences. They speak into the heart of the soul, and the soul of the heart.
Painters, poets and preachers ( at least I think so ), are always trying to discover themselves with a good self-portrait. Can I ever get it perfect ? Who am I ?
in front of God,
in front of the Bible,
in front of my family,
in front of my friends,
in front of myself ?
Vincent Van Gogh painted a lot of self-portraits, and he is often different. Did he see the subtle changes in his face, his hair and his life ? I know I have changed since I was 20 years old, in my whole belief system, my body and my mind. I would not want to be 20 again . How are you still changing ? And are you still full of beans ?
GAZA
Fred
black and white shadows
crush humanity’s freedom
am I complicit ?
Ponder Anew 