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| Delightful Daisies by Maryann Schigur |
We are sorry to report the post that went with this painting was deleted by mistake,
and so were your excellent comments.
We apologize for our carelessness.
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| Delightful Daisies by Maryann Schigur |
IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING, YOU DON'T BELONG HERE, SO KINDLY GET OUT AND STAY OUT.
We welcome Conversation
But without Vituperation.
If your aim is Vilification ––
Other forms of Denigration ––
Unfounded Accusation --
Determined Obfuscation ––
Alienation with Self-Justification ––
We WILL use COMMENT ERADICATION.
IN ADDITION
Gratuitous Displays of Extraneous Knowledge Offered Not To Shed Light Or Enhance the Discussion, But For The Primary Purpose Of Giving An Impression Of Superiority are obnoxiously SELF-AGGRANDIZING, and therefore, Subject to Removal at the Discretion of the Censor-in-Residence.
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Pity. It was a good thread.
ReplyDeleteWe do so much better talking about our common qualities.
I agree, Ducky. If you'd be so kind as to post ax to post those wonderful poems from Poland again, I'd appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteIt may sound Pollyanna-ish, but I thought it was a good idea to count our blessings for a change.
I liked what you, Ms. Shaw, AOW, Jen Nifer and SilverFiddle conrributed.
I was hoping others would join us.
Too bad this software has no capacity for retrieval!
If you aren't familiar with her work, FT, she won the Nobel a few years back. Along with Chester Milosz and Zbigniew Herbert she was part of a real strong renaissance of Polish poetry.
ReplyDeleteMiracle Fair
by Wislawa Szymborska
translated by Joanna Trzeciak
Commonplace miracle:
that so many commonplace miracles happen.
An ordinary miracle:
in the dead of night
the barking of invisible dogs.
One miracle out of many:
a small, airy cloud
yet it can block a large and heavy moon.
Several miracles in one:
an alder tree reflected in the water,
and that it's backwards left to right
and that it grows there, crown down
and never reaches the bottom,
even though the water is shallow.
An everyday miracle:
winds weak to moderate
turning gusty in storms.
First among equal miracles:
cows are cows.
Second to none:
just this orchard
from just that seed.
A miracle without a cape and top hat:
scattering white doves.
A miracle, for what else could you call it:
today the sun rose at three-fourteen
and will set at eight-o-one.
A miracle, less surprising than it should be:
even though the hand has fewer than six fingers,
it still has more than four.
A miracle, just take a look around:
the world is everywhere.
An additional miracle, as everything is additional:
the unthinkable
is thinkable.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMaybe All This
ReplyDeleteby Wislawa Szymborska
Maybe all this
is happening in some lab?
Under one lamp by day
and billions by night?
Maybe we're experimental generations?
Poured from one vial to the next,
shaken in test tubes,
not scrutinized by eyes alone,
each of us separately
plucked up by tweezers in the end?
Or maybe it's more like this:
No interference?
The changes occur on their own
according to plan?
The graph's needle slowly etches
its predictable zigzags?
Maybe thus far we aren't of much interest?
The control monitors aren't usually plugged in?
Only for wars, preferably large ones,
for the odd ascent above our clump of Earth,
for major migrations from point A to B?
Maybe just the opposite:
They've got a taste for trivia up there?
Look! on the big screen a little girl
is sewing a button on her sleeve.
The radar shrieks,
the staff comes at a run.
What a darling little being
with its tiny heart beating inside it!
How sweet, its solemn
threading of the needle!
Someone cries enraptured:
Get the Boss,
tell him he's got to see this for himself!
FT,
ReplyDeleteThe uh-oh nanosecond has no recovery in Blogger.
Thank you, Ducky. If these poems are this good in translation, they myst be breathtaking in their original language. It makes me wish I knew Polish!
ReplyDeleteI appreciated too Ms Shaw's ruminations on the joys of solitude at the sand dunes and seashore at Nauset Beach on Cape Cod, and the merriment she enjoys seeing two-year-olds interact with kittens.
AOW said she derives her greatest satisfaction from achieving the occasional "breakthrough" in helping her students really to understand a concept for the first time. I can relate also to her delight in seeing her peonies bloom.
Kurt SilverFiddle whimsically resorted to quoting Waylon Jennings in telling us how much he appreciated women, but listed so many other things that give his life meaning, direction and pleasure I wish he'd com back and tell us about them once again.
You, Ducky, expressed great satisfaction in your ability to "capture the moment" with your street photography. I can relate to that, even though I am in no way a photographer.
I wish I had the power to recall in detail every thing that was said here yesterday. It was a good thread, but at least we've been able to recapture much of the essence of it.
I was hoping we'd be able to coax something positive and encouraging from our learned friend Thersites, who seemed determined to spurn our efforts to elicit "good feelings," Heaven knows why.
Perhaps a another time?
He's afraid we'll get to know him, FT.
ReplyDeleteThe poems are a good reminder, Duck. Thanks for sharing. These are the threads I personally benefit from and I appreciate your effort, FT.
ReplyDeleteI remember too Ms. Shaw saying the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven particularly delighted her. I can certainly relate to that.
ReplyDeleteAOW told us of the pleasure she experiences with the antics of Amber and the attitude of Cameo -- two of her beloved felines. I feel the same way about my cats.
At the risk of sounding trite it really is the little things that sustain us. The Big Issues have never been -- and will never be -- dealt with to anyone's complete satisfaction, so it well behooves us to find joy and satisfaction in personal transactions and in doing whatever we set our minds to as well as possible.