tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post9141908552100583611..comments2023-12-27T22:26:20.552-05:00Comments on synch-ro-ni-zing: Poem: Little stintsRuthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-22376005687690131162011-08-27T15:15:03.362-04:002011-08-27T15:15:03.362-04:00Shorebirds at Saugatuck, you got a perfect day and...Shorebirds at Saugatuck, you got a perfect day and poem out of that birthday!Loring Wirbelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11764834150305763077noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-33795663374877000862011-08-25T19:33:04.552-04:002011-08-25T19:33:04.552-04:00I can see it and feel it -- the energy and sense o...I can see it and feel it -- the energy and sense of place you bring to your work never ceases to dazzle me.Jeaniehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17482528482559445943noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-86432533146563219792011-08-25T11:05:28.829-04:002011-08-25T11:05:28.829-04:00Sorry to be so late getting to this Ruth. The last...Sorry to be so late getting to this Ruth. The last two stanzas here are incredible--full of that echo within one gets when a piece resonates deeply. The descriptive introductory passages were lyrical, and full of image, but not so direct as the last two. Regardless, the point is made and made well, and there is a sense of place and purpose here that overrides the uneven bits for me. (I like the way the birds lift and jump back behind you also-- perfect and subtle .)hedgewitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13090696134322515899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-58418950964061277822011-08-25T09:20:48.978-04:002011-08-25T09:20:48.978-04:00I don't think my comment took so I will risk s...I don't think my comment took so I will risk saying it twice. <br /><br />"something had washed<br />away, and something had returned,<br />though I could not say what it was."<br /><br />This was my favorite part. I have seen and felt what you describe. I listened to the podcast but I longed to hear the sound of the sea and calling sea birds in the background.Sharihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13842711799199331211noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-87478580350782580502011-08-25T06:43:51.879-04:002011-08-25T06:43:51.879-04:00Oh I'm glad, Susie, so glad.Oh I'm glad, <b>Susie</b>, so glad.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-91137174406473503832011-08-25T06:35:16.249-04:002011-08-25T06:35:16.249-04:00I feel washed clean after reading this magnificent...I feel washed clean after reading this magnificent piece. I think it's my favorite of all.Susanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14201860227400017841noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-22228420531284034332011-08-25T05:58:48.683-04:002011-08-25T05:58:48.683-04:00Thanks, Brendan, I think those are very good sugge...Thanks, <b>Brendan</b>, I think those are very good suggestions. You're the first to say this, but I wonder if Robert might be thinking something like it. ('Course most people might not feel free to say so, and I appreciate your openness to do it.) I'll make some stabs at it, and maybe you'd be willing to read another draft?Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-34702067651410381332011-08-25T05:40:40.900-04:002011-08-25T05:40:40.900-04:00Yes, to have a "brief and patient life,"...Yes, to have a "brief and patient life," while we tarry and hurry ... Interesting contrasts between sharply visible and prescient details and that confession of blindness -- I'm not sure the latter worked, inserted late in the poem (it seemed jarring, off-kilter from the rapturous flow which preceded it). Some smoothing there I think would enhance the rhetorical flow of an otherwise fine mediation. Maybe some of the details of emerging from the swim in the first stanza would help the meditations which occur in the third. But really, it's on the way to becoming another gem from Ruth. -- BrendanBrendanhttp://blueoran.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-41457425546271127892011-08-25T05:28:11.301-04:002011-08-25T05:28:11.301-04:00Thanks, Reena. As do you! :-) That bald-headed blu...Thanks, <b>Reena</b>. As do you! :-) <i>That bald-headed blue jay for instance . . . !</i>Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-12633002593304523652011-08-25T05:27:36.644-04:002011-08-25T05:27:36.644-04:00Thanks, J.G., I am humbled by that contrast, and I...Thanks, <b>J.G.</b>, I am humbled by that contrast, and I need to let all my suppositions out into the air, often.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-28053315532407260962011-08-25T05:23:38.561-04:002011-08-25T05:23:38.561-04:00Mark, it's possible they are the same somethin...<b>Mark</b>, it's possible they are the same somethings. But who knows? And you're right, it's the lack of need to answer the question with my mind or words that is so restorative, I think. The answer is everywhere, and the little stints know it. They reassure me with their perseverance and constancy.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-2300988518317763092011-08-25T05:21:02.852-04:002011-08-25T05:21:02.852-04:00Thanks, Dusti, I'll be careful.
:-)Thanks, <b>Dusti</b>, I'll be careful.<br /><br />:-)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-38028891317777503452011-08-25T05:20:23.462-04:002011-08-25T05:20:23.462-04:00Oliag, our shorelines! The "sea" restore...<b>Oliag</b>, our shorelines! The "sea" restores like no other place, doesn't it? It is so good to be muted by it.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-40396714836005822922011-08-25T05:00:13.923-04:002011-08-25T05:00:13.923-04:00Thanks for reading and for your lovely words, Jen....Thanks for reading and for your lovely words, <b>Jen</b>. The word "attunement" is perfect here, for the balancing we need, and get, from nature, if we will only slow enough to receive it. It's like tuning an instrument, and I never thought of it that way before. I need to go outside and get tuned! I love it.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-59824047819855731772011-08-25T04:58:08.011-04:002011-08-25T04:58:08.011-04:00Thanks, Me.Thanks, <b>Me</b>.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-64188999306284398362011-08-25T04:57:49.137-04:002011-08-25T04:57:49.137-04:00Thank you, Mary. And well, I don't own the wor...Thank you, <b>Mary</b>. And well, I don't own the word or image "arced" — or maybe I do, maybe we all do, own everything. Or else we own nothing.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-61016211333766762562011-08-25T04:54:33.029-04:002011-08-25T04:54:33.029-04:00Nelson, it's a great question, and deep and pr...<b>Nelson</b>, it's a great question, and deep and provocative. And hey! we are doing this, with our family memories, at Blue Star Highway. :-)Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-76528680245384498542011-08-25T04:52:02.021-04:002011-08-25T04:52:02.021-04:00Thanks, Maureen. I was thinking yesterday that I d...Thanks, <b>Maureen</b>. I was thinking yesterday that I don't really <i>do</i> much out there, besides observe, and feel. It is enough for me, but sometimes I feel a little guilty about it.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-40228166269342802322011-08-25T04:48:28.902-04:002011-08-25T04:48:28.902-04:00Steven, it's mysterious that it can work this ...<b>Steven</b>, it's mysterious that it can work this way, that without words, or contemplation, some healing takes place, a balancing out, a spreading out, a restoration. Even just your blog header these days, of the tree's reflection in water, that looks like burnished bronze or brass, replaces something in me that is needful.Ruthhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14204074161539605133noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-5386273173593631062011-08-24T22:41:47.007-04:002011-08-24T22:41:47.007-04:00I always love reading your poetry, Ruth. You see ...I always love reading your poetry, Ruth. You see nature with a unique eye.Reenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17813380986631007962noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-31687747121572833952011-08-24T21:15:48.947-04:002011-08-24T21:15:48.947-04:00Such a beautiful contrast between the complexity o...Such a beautiful contrast between the complexity of human thought and feeling and the simple confidence of the birds who can just be.J.G.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02806805528636359436noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-31960052035796040712011-08-24T20:44:54.074-04:002011-08-24T20:44:54.074-04:00Are the "somethings" in the great "...Are the "somethings" in the great "I felt blind" stanza the same somethings in the final stanza? Whether yes or no the phrase "where something had washed<br />away, and something had returned" captures my interest - it's the not-knowing, the almost losing of self that happens sometimes at the beach. I sometimes wonder how the creatures see us, who don't even have natural clothing.Mark Kerstetterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13307987573435067415noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-73971917969954187312011-08-24T19:57:03.289-04:002011-08-24T19:57:03.289-04:00Excellent poem Ruthi, but be careful around those ...Excellent poem Ruthi, but be careful around those quick whirring running birds that appear to frequent bodyies of water. <br /><br />Before you know it you maight find yourself among those dove-looking ducks, the Pie-billed grebe. They might come off as sweet nice little birds, but rest assured, they just want to bury their bill against your skin and make you quack until you quake, those dirty minded rotten waterfowlwhohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17685473418191606910noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-75395768127432243712011-08-24T19:33:13.266-04:002011-08-24T19:33:13.266-04:00A walk along your muse Lake Michigan sounds so lik...A walk along your muse Lake Michigan sounds so like a walk along my RI beach. I am often overwhelmed there as well. This is so beautiful Ruth!GailOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09556665956317683667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21312708.post-72959048370908510872011-08-24T15:19:47.335-04:002011-08-24T15:19:47.335-04:00An exquisite poem in ardent attunement with the se...An exquisite poem in ardent attunement with the sensory world-- it is that attunement I believe that sustains our souls. I love these lines especially:<br /><br />I felt blind<br />to everything but feeling, a human without<br />the sense of a beast, loping into nothing,<br />out of nothing, chasing shore birds<br />in a slow wade, my legs an ache<br />of sand-walking...<br /><br /><br />xjJenne' R. Andrews https://www.blogger.com/profile/15744946229300234443noreply@blogger.com