GRIZZLY PEAR
Monday night makes for a quieter halloween.
We masked up and strolled through the neighborhood.
Three years after the last time, bitterly cold then.
Pleasant tonight.
Re-entering the land of the living.
On a night for the dead.
䷁
the earth’s condition is receptive devotion
ghosts of dogs, rabbits, and carrots spring out of pumpkins
Yesterday, I dropped off our mail-in ballots at an early voting station.
At my building!
In the double sized classroom with an operable partition.
So cool to partake in its civic life.
There.
But life doesn’t just hand out W’s.
I was only there to diagnose lingering problems.
I’ve learned to savor the little victories.
Whatever reason why I’m there.
One day, I’ll visit just to visit.
No ballots; no problems.
䷙䷊
one attains the way of heaven
slogging through the swamp
He finished his mask for Halloween.
I cut the paper.
He insisted that she draw and color.
She drew more characters, taped to popsicle sticks.
They held up their new friends so they could watch a movie.
Later that night, he asked me to add a cat for their collection.
She said it was the strangest drawing ever.
䷱䷴
The movie was fun.
Not an absolute classic like the first one, but still very good.
It was ambitious of them to push into the wider world with more human characters.
The Cleaner scene and the Jessie montage are top-notch.
The great Saturday wind swept our trash cans away.
(Fortunately they had already been emptied!)
I spent half an hour peeking into dislocated receptacles around the neighborhood.
No luck.
Sunday, our trash can showed up in a side yard around the corner.
It was paired with a second trash can with a blue lid.
(the spot had been occupied by a trash can with a black lid.)
Monday, I grabbed a recycling bin at the bottom of the hill.
It wasn’t ours, but the markings were unclear.
After two days, I guess its owners preferred our old recycling bin.
䷬䷁
sublime and enduring perseverance is needed
but any box will do the job
He was crying over nothing.
Inconsolable.
The boy has a bad temper.
I picked him up and sang the song.
小宝宝去睡觉
(little precious go to sleep).
The one they hate and never worked.
He’s getting long.
I don’t have many chances.
䷾䷞
water over fire
tears sting in the smoke
He typed random words in the Hoopla search bar
“NU …..”
Chose the album with a dog on the cover.
I Got a Dog
Pressed “Borrow”.
This week, we have trippy electronica.
䷇
thus the kings of antiquity
bestowed the different states as fiefs
The kids reenacted the The Nightmare Before Christmas.
The soundtrack played on the phone.
A white cape designated Jack (and played Santa’s beard).
The foam roller stood as the Christmas tree;
Books became boxes of presents.
They popped in and out of the closet, swapping roles.
She directed me to roll two stacked yoga balls as Oogie Boogie.
䷪䷞
mighty in the forward-striding toes
I see why this book is so widely read.
It starts as a memoir of life in the concentration camps and ends with the catharsis of logotherapy.
I have no idea whether logotherapy works, though it sure sounds truthy, especially coming from one who has survived so much trauma.
So that leaves us the memoir. And what is there to say? Holy hell, we have some evil people and evil systems in this world. I hope I’m not complicit in the worst of such systems right now.
The other thought came from the date of publication, one year after the end of the war. It’s amazing how quickly societies bounce back from the abyss. We’re really good at forgetting the past and moving on as if nothing has happened.
If someone else was crushed yesterday, what is it to me? Today or tomorrow? It’s a cold world.
Maybe logotherapy is the answer.
My mom gave me her bunny shaped cutting board I got rabbits.
Twenty years ago.
I finally sanded it.
It’s smooth, but uneven.
I need to be more careful next time,
In twenty years.
Maybe it’ll be their turn to sand it smooth.
Will they have their own bunnies?
䷠䷞
cheerful retreat
everything serves to further
They turned off the lights in the bedroom.
Pulled out a flashlight.
Turned it on.
And gave it to me.
Two cats chasing a beam of light.
䷗
going out and coming in without error
friends come without blame
to and fro goes the way