By Jalaluddin Rumi
Translated by Coleman Barks
Lovers, it is time
for the taste of fire.
Let sadness and your fears of death
sit in the corner and sulk.
The sky itself reels with love.
There is one being inside
all of us, one peace.
Poet, let every word tremble its wind bell.
Saddle the horse with great anticipation.
Flute notes are calling us into friendship.
Begin again. Play the melody
all the way through this time.
Sun-presence floods over.
Quietness is an empty cup.
Accept that you
must hide your secret.
--------
You can thank Ribby for this...she sent me Rumi: Bridge to the Soul, from which this poem is taken. And here's my review of "Elementary, Dear Data" -- if it sounds like a rush job, that's because it was, along with the latest on the Shatner Star Trek yo-yo. My children had no school due to a state-wide teachers' conference, so after lunch we went to the Countryside Artisans' open house tour. First we went to the glassblowing studio Art of Fire, which is also where the artisans at the Maryland Renaissance Faire work. There were only a few glassmakers there, working on glass birds, while there were many works on display -- we bought one of the little glass cats that had sold out at the RenFaire and played with the dog and two cats that were remarkably well-behaved in the studio (Daisy would have been batting all the little glass pieces around).
Then we went to Dancing Leaf Farm, which spins and dyes beautiful wool, but our primary interest, I must admit, is the variety of sheep they have there, including Cotswold and Jacob sheep which we don't see many of here outside agricultural fairs. There are also dogs and for the tour there were homemade cookies and chocolate covered pretzels. Next door is the Sugarloaf Studio, with sculpture, prints and paintings, where one of the artists has cut a labyrinth in the grass in the front yard. We had cider and organic chocolate.
One of the artisans at Art of Fire seen through one of the studio's creations.
The studio is in an old barn "guarded" by this dog.
Here is one of the barn cats with some more of the ornaments.
And here are some of the sheep at Dancing Leaf Farm.
The fall colors of the wool made me wish I could knit.
Where there are sheep, there are, of course, sheepdogs.
And here is one of the works of art at Sugarloaf Studio.
It was drizzling hard by late afternoon, so we went to see Elizabeth: Warrior Princess...excuse me, Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Which I completely and totally loved, even though it takes even more liberties with history than the first Elizabeth and there are some really over-the-top costuming and cinematography choices. Elizabeth gets to be Eowyn, Theoden and Aragorn! Raleigh gets to be Leicester, Essex and Drake! And Walsingham has a bit of Barbossa in him, and Cutler Becket is guarding Mary Queen of Scots' closets, with a surprise guest role for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as Philip of Spain! (Perfect casting, really, because the moral of the story is that God doesn't like people who use Him as an excuse to kill other people, but especially if they're swarthy.)
I know that the first Elizabeth is from several years before The Lord of the Rings, and it's a good thing, because if I didn't know for a fact that certain types of imagery and crescendos were already a trademark of Shekhar Kapur, I'd think he was taking cues from Peter Jackson. Paul and I were elbowing each other whispering things like, "The beacons of Gondor are lit!" at various moments -- more Two Towers than Return of the King, really. And I could draw direct comparisons because when we got home from dinner with my parents, we put on the first Elizabeth which was on Showtime...somehow I had not remembered that Christopher Eccleston was in it, probably because I didn't know who he was when I saw it (Geoffrey Rush is the one who did it for me). I know the new one is getting accused by critics of absurdities, and all I can say is that I love them both, but they are equally guilty of that!
Fridayfiver: Don't let me out of your sight
1. What makes you feel exposed? Being asked to speak in public without warning.
2. What do you have to force yourself to do? Resist eating chocolate.
3. Where do you like to spend your time outdoors? At this time of year, any place leaves are falling.
4. What surprises you? How petty and vicious people can be over incredibly minor and stupid things.
5. Friday fill-in: Late at night I'm ____. Late at night I'm craving Nestle Mint Aero bars.
The Friday Five: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...
1. Name five favorite movies. The Lion In Winter, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Amadeus, Dangerous Liaisons, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
2. Name four areas of interest you became interested in after you were done with your formal education. Digital photography, Jewish shamanism, naval history, cats.
3. Name three things you would change about this world. An end to prejudice, more equal distribution of natural resources, a greater understanding of and devotion to protecting the environment.
4. Name two of your favorite childhood toys. My stuffed rabbit called Big Bunny and my Sunshine Family dolls and dollhouse.
5. Name one person you could be handcuffed to for a full day. My husband, but only if the cuffs were lined.
Fannish5: What are the five spookiest episodes or scenes?
1. Xena, "Adventures in the Sin Trade", the arc with Alti.
2. The X-Files, "Home" -- the bloody incest episode.
3. VR.5, "Simon's Choice", where Sydney is in the mind of a murderer while he's being executed.
4. The Six Million Dollar Man, "The Bionic Woman" -- the episode where Jaime gets bionics and dies from them.
5. Doctor Who, "Blink" -- the one with the attacking statues.
No comments:
Post a Comment