from James Baldwin's The Price of the Ticket
"One must say Yes to life and embrace it whenever it is found — and it is found in terrible places; nevertheless, there it is. For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever, it is not fixed; the earth is always shifting, the light is always changing, the sea does not cease to grind down rock. Generations do not cease to be born, and we are responsible to them because we are the only witnesses they have. The sea rises, the light fails, lovers cling to each other, and children cling to us. The moment we cease to hold each other, the moment we break faith with one another, the sea engulfs us and the light goes out."
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it's how we'll always want it:
the mechanisms of the morning, the dynamics of the day, the tang of exhaustion
the branch whipping back in our face, the clefts weathered into the faces of trees
like the slight path overgrown into almost nothingness and meandering into forest
I don't know where we go
the mechanisms of the morning, the dynamics of the day, the tang of exhaustion
the branch whipping back in our face, the clefts weathered into the faces of trees
like the slight path overgrown into almost nothingness and meandering into forest
I don't know where we go
_____________
Pic: Morning tea in my happy place. I have some cherry tomatoes and chilies that I MUST pick now. They are literally rotting on the vine... I'm good at growing things, but overly cautious about harvesting.
8 comments:
Nice.
I love this passage from James Baldwin. He places us so firmly within the cycle of Life by showing us our place in Nature itself. It's plaintive, yet full of power and strength. Incredibly compelling.
Your verse is evocative of a struggle, the day-to-day challenges of Living. I like the metaphor "tang of exhaustion." That's truly how it feels to me when I get overtired.
I was very tempted to pick the biggest cucumber before we left because who knows what will happen in a week, but it was pretty small, so I left it. Fingers crossed.
I love that quote. I'm grappling right now with the end of one phase and the beginning of another, and the line "For nothing is fixed, forever and forever and forever..." brings it home to me. I have to let myself go with the flow more and give up on the concept of "forever."
Thanks!
I love that we have Whitman and Baldwin love in common, Nance!
I hope your homecoming includes the abundance of your garden, Steph. I know that feeling of wondering about the safety of individual veggies :)
It's almost Buddhist the way you've picked the words, Jenny. This season of life is hard. Even temporary goodbyes are hard. Hugs.
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