By Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Translated by Naomi Lazard
India-Pakistan War: 1965
Since our lights were extinguished
I have been searching for a way to see;
my eyes are lost, God knows where.
You who know me, tell me who I am,
who is a friend, and who an enemy.
A murderous river has been unleashed
into my veins; hatred beats in it.
Be patient; a flash of lightning will come
from another horizon like the white hand
of Moses with my eyes, my lost diamonds.
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The above was found while looking for a blackout poem; it's not really what I was hunting for, but it's very powerful, so I kept it.
I love having power! And internet! And air conditioning! I have several local friends, including Cidercupcakes, who still don't have power back, and some of them have been told it may take until Friday, which is horrible to contemplate. After a quiet morning during which both my kids slept late after a somewhat erratic sleep schedule when we had no power, we went out after lunch, first to Mom's Organic Market to get tofu and bean dip, then to Trader Joe's to get hummus and fakin' bacon, though Trader Joe's on Rockville Pike had lost power on Sunday and was still cleaning up -- half the freezer section was empty and the store smelled like rotting food. I felt very sorry for the people who worked there.
Then we came home and I folded laundry while watching Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, just because it had been too long. Both kids ended up watching with me and afterward we watched several of the making-of features because I knew my son the filmmaker would be interested in seeing how the miniatures and special effects were created and used. Both the movie and the extras are as wonderful as ever. In the evening we watched Paul McCartney in performance at the White House on PBS, which was fun though uneven (the Jonas Brothers singing "Drive My Car" is a travesty; Emmylou Harris accompanying herself on guitar on "For No One" is a revelation; McCartney performing "Let It Be" remains unparalleled; he very much deserved his Gershwin Prize).
I believe I mentioned that when the storm that knocked out our power hit the region, we were on the Montgomery County Farm Tour visiting Star Gazing Farm. Before that, we had gone to Blue Ribbon Alpacas, which has lots of adorable, slightly skittish but fairly friendly alpacas plus other animals and a small shop with alpaca woolens. Here are some photos:
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