tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post3798471601122280512..comments2023-12-27T22:26:20.552-05:00Comments on synch-ro-ni-zing: Poem: Digging for NowRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-16029920834315938862011-06-02T20:24:46.508-04:002011-06-02T20:24:46.508-04:00The eternal in the now, just like the infinite pos...The eternal in the now, just like the infinite poses of a single flame. The imagery here (your ribs opening on their hinges, the turban brows) is as enthralling as the candle you describe. If I have not commented before it is because I am constantly bewildered-delighted by how this poem seems to change shape, color and meaning each time I look at it. The ever changing yet constant flame is such an apt metaphor in that sense. Did the same thing happen when you read this and reread and revised and reread it? Did new nuances and meanings flicker and fade, flash and dance in the breeze? For some reason I fancy the key is in the line "my pen remembers what I cannot". The poetry seems to stream purely from your pen, unedited by reason. You say Rumi struck the match that lit this candle, but the wax, wick and breeze are all Ruth.Lorenzo — Alchemist's Pillowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07522265816460154722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-11554177131242991662011-05-23T15:49:12.824-04:002011-05-23T15:49:12.824-04:00Stratoz, I was quite taken with picturing the bird...<b>Stratoz</b>, I was quite taken with picturing the bird's head as a flame, or the flame as a bird's head. Thank you.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-51139340527458666162011-05-23T15:48:37.407-04:002011-05-23T15:48:37.407-04:00Susie, this is about many things, but it began wit...<b>Susie</b>, this is about many things, but it began with a memory of a meditation in which Rumi "appeared" to me. I swear. Cross my heart. And he said, "This moment is eternal."<br /><br />My friend rauf would call it frontal lobe epilepsy. :-)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-21408594647524507502011-05-23T07:19:18.700-04:002011-05-23T07:19:18.700-04:00love the connection between flame and bird that is...love the connection between flame and bird that is made by the dangers of wind.Stratozhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10148600260976577216noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-89100248793513294862011-05-21T05:50:45.518-04:002011-05-21T05:50:45.518-04:00Well, I think I know what it's about, and if I...Well, I think I know what it's about, and if I'm right, then you've hidden the subject well. :)<br /><br />I'm pretty sure I could read this a thousand times and still not be sure. You do your work well, my friend.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201860227400017841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-19395039500292319462011-05-20T05:54:51.956-04:002011-05-20T05:54:51.956-04:00Terresa, "Yes" is my favorite word. Seco...<b>Terresa</b>, "Yes" is my favorite word. Second favorite: freedom.<br /><br />Thanks, my friend.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-74339385378852075142011-05-20T05:54:05.836-04:002011-05-20T05:54:05.836-04:00Matt, thank you for reading and listening. Poems c...<b>Matt</b>, thank you for reading and listening. Poems come alive for me when I hear them spoken too.<br /><br />When I think about that line about the pen, it feels true, and yet I keep wondering, how can that be? Yet . . . it is why I write!Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-3500076525160081332011-05-20T05:52:43.180-04:002011-05-20T05:52:43.180-04:00Dutchbaby, thanks for sticking with this.
Ohh, Re...<b>Dutchbaby</b>, thanks for sticking with this.<br /><br />Ohh, Rembrandt's eyes. <i>Yes</i>.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-87540013729378474002011-05-20T05:50:57.570-04:002011-05-20T05:50:57.570-04:00Miss Jane, yeah, there are many ways to read the t...<b>Miss Jane</b>, yeah, there are many ways to read the title, which is a good thing, I suppose. I think your suggestion for losing "like" is a good one, something I could probably apply to many poems of mine.<br /><br />I'm glad you got the Rumi vibe. This poem began as a memory of an intense meditation in which "Rumi spoke to me," saying "This moment is eternal." <br /><br />I recently read an excerpt from Margaret Visser's book <i>The Geometry of Love</i> in which she says, "Everyone has had some such experience. There are moments in life when — to use the language of a building — the door swings open. The door shuts again, sooner rather than later. But we have seen, even if only through a crack, the light behind it." <br /><br />I won't try to explain it away, and thus destroy it.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-45289915893320208662011-05-20T05:39:26.584-04:002011-05-20T05:39:26.584-04:00Brendan, I thought it might have something to do w...<b>Brendan</b>, I thought it might have something to do with balsamic.<br /><br />Yes, I'd say of all the people I know, you take the old truths the most seriously, and "mental vinaigrette" is spot on for what seems to roil in that head of yours.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-22322996004344204962011-05-20T05:25:42.827-04:002011-05-20T05:25:42.827-04:00Oliag :-)
I have noticed that olamic is not in s...<b>Oliag</b> :-) <br /><br />I <i>have</i> noticed that <i>olamic</i> is not in some dictionaries, but I didn't know it wasn't specifically in the Scrabble one.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-29687168740878189452011-05-20T05:23:11.190-04:002011-05-20T05:23:11.190-04:00Thank you, Jeanie. It touches me that you find som...Thank you, <b>Jeanie</b>. It touches me that you find something here.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-43488477363480510802011-05-20T05:20:41.344-04:002011-05-20T05:20:41.344-04:00Boots, I didn't realize, there are air, fire, ...<b>Boots</b>, I didn't realize, there are air, fire, water and earth here. I didn't intend that. But I'm all right with it. ;-)<br /><br />I know you'll get your air back right quick, my Gemini sister, and I'll share my fire with you anytime.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-28381049465731748412011-05-20T01:38:43.935-04:002011-05-20T01:38:43.935-04:00"opening my ribs on their hinges" -- I c..."opening my ribs on their hinges" -- I can feel this poem with my fingers. You used one of my favorite words of all: "Yes."*https://www.blogger.com/profile/06484208765656281917noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-41948175158504747652011-05-20T00:52:47.704-04:002011-05-20T00:52:47.704-04:00The audio really enhanced the poem for me. Excelle...The audio really enhanced the poem for me. Excellent.<br /><br />I loved this line:<br />"My pen remembers what I cannot:"<br /><br />That feels so true.Matt Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09276531398959895160noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-48170890406602333482011-05-20T00:16:58.260-04:002011-05-20T00:16:58.260-04:00I learned a new word too. I think Rembrandt paints...I learned a new word too. I think Rembrandt paints olamic eyes. Your poems are a challenge for me, but I'm glad I persevered. Great positive ending.Dutchbabyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00844296297519447526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-76372674389803428632011-05-19T18:21:16.288-04:002011-05-19T18:21:16.288-04:00I think I like the "Digging for Now" tit...I think I like the "Digging for Now" title, it's quite descriptive of gardening. What are you up to in your garden? Well, just digging, for now.<br />I would chuck out the "like" in the first line. "the flame bobs, a bird's head", just a style preference.<br />I get a most definite Rumi vibe from this. (Perhaps the turban, the rib and heart opening?) Very strong and sensual and thoughtful. One single flame with infinite poses. Lovely.Miss Janehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13659603837343456631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-5846013762227870142011-05-19T13:18:01.669-04:002011-05-19T13:18:01.669-04:00"Olamic vinegar" rather than "balsa..."Olamic vinegar" rather than "balsamic vinegar" - lame pun, I know, but I couldn't resist. I do like old truths in my mental vinaigrette. - BrendanAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-54544712710910071392011-05-19T11:31:33.723-04:002011-05-19T11:31:33.723-04:00That lilac in the mist photo is a poem in itself!
...That lilac in the mist photo is a poem in itself!<br /><br />I love reading your poetry..it makes me think which I don't really often do during the day. This time I had to look up olamic...a lovely word to say...did you know it is not an official Scrabble word:) well according to Wordnik anyways:)GailOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556665956317683667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-8065041158690828092011-05-19T08:56:25.176-04:002011-05-19T08:56:25.176-04:00The pen remembers what I do not. My dear, how DO y...The pen remembers what I do not. My dear, how DO you do it? And your lilacs... well, you know.Jeaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17482528482559445943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-10053971191719876562011-05-19T08:44:36.543-04:002011-05-19T08:44:36.543-04:00The image takes my breath away, Ruth. That's ...The image takes my breath away, Ruth. That's Air. And now you want to take me into Earth?Ginnie Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14014434422568561157noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-80313206519121112162011-05-19T06:42:28.617-04:002011-05-19T06:42:28.617-04:00Montag, I agree, it is a beautiful, beautiful word...<b>Montag</b>, I agree, it is a beautiful, beautiful word. The sound of it, the appearance of it, and its multiples of meaning. Thanks for your mazel!Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-19177310213077424232011-05-19T06:41:26.811-04:002011-05-19T06:41:26.811-04:00Robert, you are perceptive. The work we've bee...<b>Robert</b>, you are perceptive. The work we've been doing at Rumi and Rilke, the daily practice of reading and meditating on their words, thoughts and feelings, has had a profound impact on me, and keeps on doing so. You feeling even a sliver of that here means so much to me, though there is much, much work to be done, both in my heart and in the writing. Thank you.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-80525228201206393282011-05-19T06:38:02.382-04:002011-05-19T06:38:02.382-04:00Amy, thank you for understanding.<b>Amy</b>, thank you for understanding.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-91131153685281989692011-05-19T06:14:38.771-04:002011-05-19T06:14:38.771-04:00Margaret, your kind words really knock me out. Tha...<b>Margaret</b>, your kind words really knock me out. Thank you.<br /><br />I began writing poems in the early mid-1990s, in college classes with Diane Wakoski. I also spent time writing and workshopping with her and other writers for about five years in a poetry writing group. But I feel my work was dead until the past year or so, due to a couple of factors. I met some poets here in the blogosphere who ignited my passion for poetry like never before. I also posted daily poems at the Rumi blog, and now the Rilke blog. I am convinced that the work of daily reading good poems about the work I love (going inside), and the discourse at the Rilke blog, have been the very best "education" for writing. Also, the poets I admire so much here online have also taught me, as well as inspired me. <br /><br />Maybe one of these days I'll get a self published book out. It means a lot to me that you would like to hold such a book in your hands. Thank you, Margaret.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.com