take a deep breath in

everything is cheap in thailand. except the scams.

also, this country needs to learn the meaning of the word "winter."

also, i need to learn how to let things go and not hope people's boats sink with all of my former money.

Samish Island, WA

Sunbear is such a good little dog.

upside down boat

friends

tea

poetry

view from a porch

UPS makes me happy

some day soon (10 to be exact), i will be boarding a plane to go to thailand with my best friend. i'm taking souvenir requests.

in other news, UPS is mailing any box 50 lbs or under to Haiti for free! so you can fill it with clothes or food or whatever you would want if your world had literally crumbled.

the day before was wrong

but we'll make up for it today

i whispered

my arm under your sweet head

goodbyes in the splinters of dusty night dreams

in the uncomfortably comfortable bed

do you remember my birthday

or my name

do you remember 

or did you remember to forget

i'll remind you to remember

we listened to the snap of sails on the pacific

we touched the cold northwestern wind in the park filled with machines

we experienced the coast glitter like a 1920s dress covered in jazz

we followed the broken road and didn't have to worry -- only drive and drive

there was a story about a ceiling

the trees were silent because all the birds had left

and you read lying on your stomach

your voice more honest

the words emerging from your mouth

became sunburned and sandy

gulls bolted landward to snatch them up

they are greedy

or maybe just hungry

the day before was wrong

we'll make up for it tomorrow

wise people on purpose

"You must know for which harbor you are headed if you are to catch the right wind to take you there." -- Lucius Seneca (4 B.C. -A.D. 65). 

I love that this quote poetically captures the futility of wandering through life without a purpose. And while we're talking about quotes from Romans, this reminds me of one of my favorite verses:

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect." -- Romans 12:2

Feeling so blessed today. . .

Ok, and this is really funny, but SO true and fits the theme today:

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy." -- George Bernard Shaw

And continuing through time and ending with our present one. (See how much purpose this posting has. Chronological and everything. No anachronisms today folks.)

"Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you unfulfilled." -- Barack Obama

miniature earth

This is an extremely powerful video about if the world's population was reduced to a village of 100 people but kept the percentages of statistics that we presently have. Absolutely fascinating reminder to appreciate what we have and to help others. click here to see for yourself ------> miniature earth

i know, two posts in one day, but can you blame me?

absolutely unbelievable sunset

parking lot

as if on cue.

 

veins

cloud veins split with a hot glass crack

rain peppers the trees cold

the energy splits and floats down to where we stand

my hand holding an umbrella stem

your hand wrapped around mine

effervescence flows from skin to blood to heart 

my foot puddle dodges 

presses a leaf into cement

blood orange paper

veins that once held life 

veins with pen marking connections

canals carrying blood to your heart to your skin to my skin

you glow like the city’s reflection on the sound

waves of your voice transfer life 

with sparkling invisibility

girls with their cats

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nikolinelr/

photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/omaoezlem/548996375/ 

"Cats are dangerous companions for writers because cat watching is a near-perfect method of writing avoidance." - Dan Greenburg

these words are not safe

wrinkled by a thousand days,
her hands smooth the page of a letter
meant to keep her mind off other matters
the words crawl off the pages
bridging over her fingers

i can see them walking up her arms —
small alphabet ants
broken, trudging, tripping,

she flicks one off
a sentence sails through the space
between us
the emptiness filling for a transitory moment

the syntax climbs to her shoulder
a comma slips, catches itself on a conjunction
i watch helplessly as the words creep into her ear
they’ve certainly reached their target destination by now:

the ridges and canyons of her brain
defenseless against the onslaught of invaders
who tunnel their way deep like a burning seed
melting into the gray matter
pushing tears out of her eyes
manufacturing space for their inevitable spreading
eclipse
of oceans
of thoughts

the drops hit the now blank page
where the words had been kept

it sounds like rain on a puddle

the paper dissolves in her hands
that have grown more wrinkled than before