How Green Was My Valley

Of me was the valley and the valley was of me, and every blade of grass, and every stone, and every leaf of every tree, and every knob of coal or drop of water, or stick or branch or flower or grain of pollen, or creature living, or dust in the ground, all were of me as my blood, my bones, or the notions from my mind. My Valley, O my Valley, within me, I will live in you, eternally.
      Let Death or worse strike this mind and blindness eat these eyes if thought or sight forget you. Valley of the Shadow of Death, now, for some, but not for me, for part of me is the memory of you in your greens and browns ,with everything of life happy in your deeps and shades, when you gave sweet scents to us, and sent forth spices for the pot, and flowers, and birds sang out of pleasure to be with you.

How Green Was My Valley by Richard LLewellyn

Montaigne Quote

As I seldom read in histories of such disorders in other states without regretting that I could not be present to get a closer view of them, so my curiosity makes me in some way congratulate myself on being a witness of this noteworthy spectacle and seeing our society’s death, its symptoms and its nature. And, since I am unable to delay it, I am content that I was destined to be a spectator of it and to get instructions from it.

From “On Physiognomy”
By Michel De Montaigne

Get thee hence

Matthew Chapter 4

8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

11 Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.

This is Dislocations post 666; I’m not taking any chances.

witnesses of these things

And they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honey comb.

And he took it, and he did eat before them.

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fullfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

Then opened their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures.

And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day.

And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning in Jerusalem.

And ye are witnesses of these things.

The Gospel of Saint Luke
24: 42-48

a declaration of existence

“...and as I struck the note, I spoke the line: "Jesus died for somebody’s sins but not mine.” I had written the line some years before as a declaration of existence, as a vow to take responsibility for my own actions. Christ was a man worthy to rebel against, for He was rebellion itself.”

“He had tried everything from science to voodoo, everything but prayer. That, at least, I could give him in abundance. I prayed ceaselessly for him, a desperate human prayer. Not for his life, no one could take that cup from him, but for the strength to endure the unendurable.”

From Just Kids by Patti Smith, a terrific memoir and perhaps the best book I've read in the last 12 months.

I'll Remember You

WHY READ?

"It matters, if individiuals are to retain any capacity to form their own judgements and opinions, that they continue to read for themselves. How they read, well or badly, and what they read, cannot depend wholly on themselves, but why they read must be for and in their own interest. You can read merely to pass the time, or you can read with an overt urgency, but evetually you will read against the clock. Bible readers, those who search the Bible for themslves, perhaps exemplify the urgency more plainly than readers of Shakespeare, yet the quest is the same. One of the uses of reading is to prepare ourselves for change, and the final change alas is unversal."

From How To Read And Why by Harold Bloom. I’ve been re-reading this great book and probably could select a quote from every page to post.

Let the Baseball Clichés Begin

“It’s opening day, and everything is going to be magnified times 100. It’s one game, one win. But it’s a lot better than losing.”

— Jason Bay, the new Left Fielder for the N.Y. Mets on the team's 7-1 Opening Day win against the Florida Marlins.

Be Not Afraid

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone, from the door, and sat upon it.

His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.

He is not here: for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you.

And they departed quickly from the sepulcher with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples word.

And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All Hail. And they came and held him by the feet and worshiped him.

Then said Jesus unto them, Be Not Afraid.

From The Gospel of Matthew, Chapter: 28

Palm Sunday

"The river so white/the mountain so red/and with the sunshine over my head/The honky-tonks are all closed and hushed/It looks like Palm Sunday again

From Palm Sunday by Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia, it’s a short snippet of a poem on his great studio Album, Cats Out Under The Stars.

These are palms folded into a shape of a cross.

Yeats - 03-17-2010

A DEEP-SWORN VOW

Others because you did not keep
That deep-sworn vow have been friends of mine
Yet Always when I look death in the face,
When I clamber to the heights of sleep,
Or when I grow excited with wine,
Suddenly I meet your face.

William Butler Yeats 1917

Blogger note: Happy St. Patrick's Day. Read more Yeats!

Ecclesiastes 9: 15-18

Now there was found in it a wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man.

Then said I, Wisdom is better than strength: nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard.

The words of wise men are heard in quiet more than the cry of him that ruleth fools.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war; but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Quote 03 02 2010

“And clean up your yard.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?”
“It’s got everything to do with everything.”
“Why?”
“If you don’t know, I can’t tell you.” Here he stood up, and I saw his daughter at the curb in her Lincoln. One leg wouldn’t straighten all the way out, and I could see the pain in his face. I grabbed his arm, and he smiled a mean little smile and leaned in to me for a second and said, “Bruton, everything worth doing hurts like hell.” He toddled off and left me with his sour breath on my face and a thought forming in my head like a rain cloud.

From Welding with Children by Tim Gautreaux

Knowing

Knowing can be a curse on a person’s life. I’d traded in a pack of lies for a pack of truth, and I didn’t know which one was heavier. Which one took the most strength to carry around? It was a ridiculous question, though, because once you know the truth, you can’t ever go back and pick up your suitcase of lies. Heavier or not, the truth is yours now.

From The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Soul of a Man - Post 300

tell me, what is the soul of a man
I read the bible often,
I tries to read it right
as far as I can understand,
a man is more than his mind

From Soul of a Man by Blind Willie Johnson

With Malice Toward None

Can’t think too much or too often about Lincoln. Here is the Great Man in the aptly named Union Square Park. It was actually one of the first statues of Abraham Lincoln, cast in 1868, and dedicated September 16, 1870, and according to a website, “combines a classically styled pose with a perceptive naturalism, uniting realistic detail with an idealistic stance.” The sculptor, Henry Kirke Brown created several Lincoln likenesses, including one in Prospect and his nephew crafted the bronze bust for Gettysburg’s Lincoln Memorial. An irony of course is that New York City hated Lincoln, always voted against him and except for his famous Cooper Union speech, he rarely visited the city. Upstate New York considered itself more New England back then and loved Lincoln and was strongly abolitionist,. New York City, especially Manhattan strongly supported the confederacy, mainly because plantation money was an investment resource for Wall Street. Many New York City politicians wanted the city to secede with the confederate states. Of course, the city changed its tune after the war and this statue was commissioned by the city’s Union League Club. Here’s a longer quote from the quote the base quotes, The Second Inaugural — “With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Ash Wednesday Conversation Snippet

Today’s Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

What do you do for Lent?

I don’t eat meat on Fridays and I don’t sin for 40 days and 40 nights. What do you do?

I also don’t eat meat on Fridays, but I don’t sin for 80 days. That way I keep my nights free.

A Tree So White

“It's snowing again,
seems like it's always snowing.
Sitdown to write and it's so cold.
Outside my window,
there's a tree so white
I can hardly look at it."

From: “The Scientist Writes A Letter” by Tom Verlaine

Ginsberg’s N.J. Bus Ride

Ride 3 hour thru tunnels past all American Industry,
Bayone preparing for World War II, tanks, gas fields, soda
factories, diners, locomotive roundhouse fortress – into piney
woods New Jersey Indians – calm towns – long roads thru sandy tree fields –
Bridges by deerless creeks, old wampum loading the streambed – down there in a tomahawk or Pocahontas bone – and a million old ladies voting for Roosevelt in brown small houses, roads off the Madness highway –
perhaps a hawk in a tree, or a hermit looking for an owl-filled branch –
All the time arguing – afraid of strangers in the forward double seat, snoring regardless – what bus ride they snore on now?

From Kaddish (For Naomi Ginsberg 1894 – 1956) by Allen Ginsberg
Remember that Ginsberg was writing about a time when he was 12 years old, taking a bus from Paterson to the mental institution to visit his bipolar mom, Naomi.

Say What, Ditch?

Lots of nice ditches in Hamilton Park, guess it’s time to lay some pipe. Well, there goes another deadline for the opening of the park, February. Can’t say there’s no progress being made, though. What I love about this ditch is similar to the planters on Newark, everything not in use becomes a litter receptacle in this town. Maybe we need more garbage pails, less garbage, or citizens who give a hoot and don’t pollute. During his surrealist phase, Bob Dylan has an interesting quote about ditches, not really applicable but it’s still pretty cool.

At dawn my lover comes to me
And tells me of her dreams
With no attempts to shovel the glimpse
Into the ditch of what each one means
At times I think there are no words
But these to tell what's true
And there are no truths outside the Gates of Eden