Monday Morning Musings:
“Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”
–fromMary Oliver “When I Am Among the Trees”
“After the kingfisher’s wing
Has answered light to light, and is silent, the light is still
At the still point of the turning world.”
I walk among the trees
watch the light golden-streaming,
and feel the wind river-breezing
listen to the crows caw and go
then all is still, in the glow,

Delaware River at Red Bank Battlefield, National Park, NJ.–November
though now it’s blanket season
when the wind blows, teasing
the clouds that alternate grey and bright
while I seek some warmth, some light
and find delight in sunrise pink rising high
I look to the sky
the flocking of birds in flight.
We gather with family
hope there’s no drama
[insert comma]
or not too much.
Some come from lunch
to share our dinner
and so, we talk and laugh,
and most definitely eat (repeat)
(not forgetting the sweets)
till it is time for them to go–
and you think you know
how life will be
but suddenly, you see
all the moments—
the traditional breaking of stuffing bread
under Capt. Janeway’s gaze, her cool head
once again guiding her crew
–and for them so much to do–
and you, too, so much done,
all the times before—
and after–the squirrels, the sisters and daughters,
the laughter and traditions, the people come and gone—
babies grown, moving on
we watch a movie of love and longing
of trying to find a better life, men migrating
women left behind, waiting
for escape, for weddings, for revenge—
gritty life and magic realism, avenging
ghosts among us
life not ending, but flowing like the sea—
what happens when we cease to be,
does love carry on through time and space?
Is there a still point, full of grace
and light, golden
like the emblazoned leaves
shining. . .
beauty to remember when it snows
to recall it will return
even as the darkness grows
and the world turns, day to night
and all is still–
but beyond the clouds—
stars and moon still burn bright.
We celebrated Thanksgiving. Some of my sibling saw my mom that day, and we saw her the next day.
Merril’s Movie Club: We watched Atlantics on Netflix. This film from Senegal won the Grand Prix at Cannes. It moves from social realism of life in Dakar—forced marriages, laborers who don’t get paid, migration—to a sort of magic realism based on folk tales. I imagine it was a beautiful movie to see on a large screen.We both liked it very much.