From Parabola:
Frederic James Shields, "William Blake’s Workroom and Deathroom," c. 1880.
"I am the vessel. The draft is God's. And God is the thirsty one."
—Dag Hammarskjold, Markings, 1964
Eliot Elisofon, "Buddha sitting on serpent at Phnom Peuh museum," 1949
tile decoration from Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain
Frederic James Shields, "William Blake’s Workroom and Deathroom," c. 1880.
"I am the vessel. The draft is God's. And God is the thirsty one."
—Dag Hammarskjold, Markings, 1964
Eliot Elisofon, "Buddha sitting on serpent at Phnom Peuh museum," 1949
"We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows."
―Robert Frost, "In the Clearing," 1962But the Secret sits in the middle and knows."
tile decoration from Alhambra Palace, Granada, Spain
A man meets his life most poignantly in moments of painful contraction and expansion. At those moments he senses the difference between being present and being taken. If he keeps himself open to the question, he will move in what he believes is a fruitful direction.
Many roads will beckon: art, studies, perhaps drugs – other pursuits. He may not find the answer to his fundamental question but he senses that a reality is escaping him; perhaps that something within himself can change existence. Maybe he has a fleeting feeling while listening to a passage of music, or is struck by a word, by nature. Perhaps some flash appears in the midst of love, of sorrow, or joy – a moment of ah…! Something is here, strange, wondrous.
Many roads will beckon: art, studies, perhaps drugs – other pursuits. He may not find the answer to his fundamental question but he senses that a reality is escaping him; perhaps that something within himself can change existence. Maybe he has a fleeting feeling while listening to a passage of music, or is struck by a word, by nature. Perhaps some flash appears in the midst of love, of sorrow, or joy – a moment of ah…! Something is here, strange, wondrous.
And at that moment, a door opens. He may or may not go further. The chances are that the pull of gravity will close the door. He will be shut away from his ever-present possibility. Back to the office and workplace, to vacations, to family, to having a good time/bad time, getting and spending. The door may never open again – or will it?
―From William Segal, “Opening: Collected Writings of William Segal, 1985-1997”
―From William Segal, “Opening: Collected Writings of William Segal, 1985-1997”
Romanesque Arches
Inside the huge Romanesque church the tourists jostled in the half darkness.
vault gaped behind vault, no complete view.
A few candle flames flickered.
An angel with no face embraced me
and whispered through my whole body:
"Don't be ashamed of being human, be proud!
Inside you vault opens behind vault endlessly.
You will never be complete, that's how it's meant to be."
Blind with tears
I was pushed out on the sun-seething piazza
together with Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Mr Tanaka, and Signora Sabatini,
and inside each of them vault opened behind vault endlessly.
―Tomas Tranströmer from The Half Finished Heaven translated by Robert Bly. With thanks to The Beauty We Love.
Inside the huge Romanesque church the tourists jostled in the half darkness.
vault gaped behind vault, no complete view.
A few candle flames flickered.
An angel with no face embraced me
and whispered through my whole body:
"Don't be ashamed of being human, be proud!
Inside you vault opens behind vault endlessly.
You will never be complete, that's how it's meant to be."
Blind with tears
I was pushed out on the sun-seething piazza
together with Mr. and Mrs. Jones, Mr Tanaka, and Signora Sabatini,
and inside each of them vault opened behind vault endlessly.
―Tomas Tranströmer from The Half Finished Heaven translated by Robert Bly. With thanks to The Beauty We Love.
No comments:
Post a Comment