you start, bob. i'll sing the harmony.

We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse." That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?

that's such a lovely quote. and so true and so real. poetry, beauty, romance, love. these aren't what we live for. they are what we stay alive for.

staying alive. it's nearly an entity of its own. p.s. i hate the bee gees. and i hate even more what they have to say about staying alive. trying to get high. trying to get low. trying to understand the new york times' effect on man. why? why try so hard to make things more than what they are? life is complicated enough. a mongoose is not a goose. it's not even a bird. lynyrd skynyrd is not a man's name. ring around the rosy is about the plague. progeria syndrome makes children grow old and kills them too young. people get fat and their neighbors starve to death. things don't make sense as it is. why rage against it all?

we've all been in situations and heard stories that have sucked the wonder right out of our bones. i've visited orphan villages. i've watched men dying of AIDS. i've heard testimonies that have made my palms sweat. and it's in these moments that my faith is that of a cynical old chain smoker suffering from insomnia and not a wide eyed child who dreams of sugar plum fairies. and i feel weighed down. yes, weighed down. but not always hopeless. it takes poets like dylan thomas and painters like william bouguereau to bring me back to life. it takes mountains like the rwenzori and theologians like g.k. chesterton to remind me that loveliness is essential to life and sugar plum fairies will set you free.

it's a relief to learn that my periodic childishness is part of living. it's ok to be creative. it's ok to think in iambic pentameter and remember faces in 3x5. it's all part of staying alive. yes people get sick. yes parents get divorced. yes buildings burn down. but sometimes even doctors learn to sketch. moms and dads make funny jokes. neighbors come together and build a new barn. life is good. even when it's not. and this goodness, these surprises, the poetry and beauty and love, this is why we stay alive. and wherever this all ends, wherever it goes and wherever it stops or starts over, i will be happy to have lived through it.

thank you for sticking with me, those of you who keep reading this. i wish you were here. and hey aunt beth, how can i get ahold of you?? i keep visiting your phantom blogspot and still have no way of saying hi!

all my love
peace on earth
hope in hearts
food on tables,
annie