Thursday, September 3, 2009

Poetry Present

I'm trusting that my husband is going to continue to sporadically visit BA and so I can think out loud about ways to honor our 10th year anniversary. He is a romantic who masquerades as an engineer. He pays attention in ways that continue to astound me 10 years into the deal. Over the years, I have purchased numerous gifts that have failed completely. Here is a partial list:

1. Black Fedora with a red bird feather of some kind...very Frank Sinatra. He has not worn it once.
2. Puffy slippers purchased at one of those shops that suck you in because they have a lot of gadgets designed for all the men in your life. I can't remember the special feature that I thought an engineer might appreciate but he has not worn them once.
3. Tibetan dress shirt--I bought this because it is the only culture where Scott is an XL. He wears this on only the most special of occasions.
4. Numerous Gnomes--he does have a great appreciation for these magical creatures but you can't buy a gnome for every special occasion--it shows a lack of creativity and your children come to think of their father as a gnome.
5. Running tights--extra long---I'm not sure how that happened but he hasn't worn them once.

So, you can see how the pressure might be mounting, just a bit. My artist friends have advised me to stop thinking in terms of things and start thinking in terms of experiences. They might have a point.

So, my love, I am putting together a few poems you might appreciate. Here is the first one--

Oceans

I have a feeling that my boat
Has struck, down there in the depths,
against a great thing.
And nothing
happens! Nothing.....Silence.........Waves....

--Nothing happens? Or has everything happened,
and are we standing now, quietly, in the new life?

Juan Ramon Jimenez
translated by Robert Bly

3 comments:

  1. I'm thinking this poem is about death and the afterlife. As Jimenez didn't say what he meant by it, I guess you could with it as a love poem (?).

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  2. it does seem to read that way but my thinking is that profound love is the death of the "old way" and that you stand together in the new life....alive and kicking:)

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  3. Beautiful, beautiful, who says love letters are passe?

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