Tony Anthony's Beneath Buddha's Eyes --

Vietnam 1968 -69


It is always difficult to look at photographs of war, but if we don't
look, we forget. This the the anniversary of the beginning of the latest war--
Operation Iraqui Liberation (OIL) --It is with sorrow and incomprehensible
horror that we remember; we must not forget, this is wrong.

For the First Day of Spring----


Persephone Inspecting the Garden
One month ago, she ate
the last of the pomegranate seeds
on the way back from a trip to the compost bin.

Snow covered her path
and the orange peels and eggshells
lay frozen together on their bed of winter greens,
but still she sensed a stirring underfoot
and a warm, liquid rising in the tall willow
as if to a shy face still unaware of its beauty.

Today, thin emerald blades of chives
sprout brushlike, from bare earth;
pale prepubescent nubs of rhubarb
push forth, prepare to blush.

Kneeling down, she pulls the golden coverlet of straw
from autumn’s last chrysanthemums,
plunges fingers in the soft dark earth,
feeling for the living stems.

Bending close, she listens
in that space between the growing thing and earth,

hears her mother’s voice.

from The Cassandra Pages

Rich's truck, Regina NM Thanksgiving 2003


Shel Hershorn, through a glass darkly 11/03 Regina NM

Corrales backyard along the Interior Drain.

Mysterious No. 11 continues to hound the world, mankind

By BEN CAL
http://www.mb.com.ph/BSNS200403205280.html


By sheer coincidence, the deadly terrorist train bombings in Madrid,
Spain last March 11 occurred exactly 911 days after Muslim extremists
attacked New York City and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001 known the
world over as the 9-11 tragedy.


Number 11 has indeed been hounding humanity since the infamous 9-11
attacks nearly three years ago.

Consider this: The date of the attack was September 11 or 9 + 1 + 1 =
11, and to think that September 11 has 9 letters and 2 numbers:
9+2=11, and the number 911 is the telephone number for emergencies in
the United States!

Likewise, September 11 is the 254th day of the year and to add the
numbers 2, 5, 4 the total sum is 11. And after September 11 there are
111 days left until the end of the year.

Terrorists used an unconventional method in attacking New York and
Washington by hijacking commercial jetliners and slamming them on
Apple City's twin towers which looked like No. 11.

There's more to it on the bizarre No. 11. The terrorists hijacked the
first plane with Flight AA11 and the targets were the double 11, twin
towers.

Four of the hijackers on board flight AA11 have the initials A. A.
which when translated to number is 11.

The Website Yahoo also confirmed that the fifth AA11 hijacker was the
pilot named Mohamed Atta whose name has 11 letters. The plane was
carrying 92 persons. When added, 9 plus 2 equals 11. The ill-fated
plane had 11 crew members - 2 pilots and 9 flight attendants.

New York was the 11th State added to the Union and the name Trade
Center has 11 letters. The word "skyscrapers" also has 11 letters.

The first tower collapsed at 10:28 a.m. that fateful day of September
11, 2001. When added 1+0+2+8=11. The first fire truck to arrive at the
scene was firetruck, No. 11. The firetruck lost 11 firemen combating
the blaze and the World Trade Center collapsed to a height of 11
stories.

It is on record that the twin towers continued burning for 99 days
before it was extinguished and multiplying 9 by 11 equals 99.

Topping it all, New York officials announced that the death toll from
the World Trade Center attacks was 2,801 which when added together,
the total is 11.

On the other hand, the plane that hit the Pentagon was United Airlines
Flight 77 with 65 people on board. Again, 6 + 5 is 11.

The prime suspect in the 9-11 attacks was Osama bin Laden whose
birthplace is Saudi Arabia, again with 11 letters.

The first man who orchestrated the attack on WTC in 1993 was Ramzi
Yousef whose also has 11 letters.

Number 11 is indeed significant. Consider these significant historical
events: World War I ended on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the
11th month. The first man to land on the moon was aboard Apollo 11.

Ancient superstitious beliefs say Number 11 has been associated with
mystery and power for thousands of years.

It has remained a puzzle to mankind. (PNA)

Kaleidescope
"The mystery does not get clearer
by repeating the question,
nor is it bought with going to amazing places.
Until you've kept your eyes and your wanting
still for fifty years, you don't begin
to cross over from confusion."
Rumi

Happy Birthday, C. Little - One Year today...



It's been a year since I started this weblog on 3/15/2003.
The war drums were beating and everything was vibrating.
I couldn't see the future which was opening before me -- shock
and awe, the loss of dear friends, my father's passing, the sale
and emptying of our family home after 20 years, many more subtle
and significant events and changes to contemplate.

I'm glad I did this, and I am grateful to all those who encouraged
me and C. Little to chronicle and claim the moments and the
messages in our swiftly flowing lives.

I started the blog with a poem by Mary Oliver, called Wage Peace
and a picture of Noah in his bath, playing. It seems appropriate to
post another Mary Oliver poem here now--this one sounds so much like
me, I wish I wrote it. Happy birthday, y'all....

Some Things, Say the Wise Ones

Some things, say the wise ones who know everything,
are not living. I say,
You live your life your way and leave me alone.

I have talked with the faint clouds in the sky when they
are afraid of being left behind; I have said, Hurry, hurry!
and they have said, Thank you, we are hurrying.

About cows, and starfish, and roses there is no
argument. They die, after all.

But water is a question, so many living things in it,
but what is it itself, living or not? Oh, gleaming

generosity, how can they write you out?

As I think this I am sitting on the sand beside
the harbor. I am holding in my hand
small pieces of granite, pyrite, schist.
Each one, just now, so thoroughly asleep.

--Mary Oliver from The New Yorker 3/8/04

This poem reminds me of Noah, who must test the limits of everything!

A Little Girl Tugs At the Tablecloth

She’s been in this world for over a year,
and in this world not everything’s been examined
and taken in hand.

The subject of today’s investigation
is things that don’t move by themselves.

They need to be helped along,
shoved, shifted,
taken from their place and relocated.

They don’t all want to go, e.g. the bookshelf,
the cupboard, the unyielding walls, the table.

But the tablecloth on the stubborn table
--when well-seized by its hems—
manifests a willingness to travel.

And the glasses, plates,
creamer spoons, bowl
are fairly shaking with desire.

It’s fascinating,
what form of motion will they take,
once they’re trembling on the brink:
will they roam across the ceiling?
fly around the lamp?
hop onto the windowsill and from there to a tree?

Mr. Newton still has no say in this.
Let him look down from the heavens and wave his hands.

This experiment must be completed.
And it will.

--Wislawa Szymborska
(translated from the Polish – The New Yorker 3/8/04)