I am Learning to Abandon the World
Leif Gunnlögsson, a friend has died. I don’t want to sound trite but I think he’d learnt to abandon the world before it abandoned him. Me, I’m still learning …
I am Learning to Abandon the World
by Linda Pastan
I am learning to abandon the world
before it can abandon me.
Already I have given up the moon
and snow, closing my shades
against the claims of white.
And the world has taken
my father, my friends.
I have given up melodic lines of hills,
moving to a flat, tuneless landscape.
And every night I give my body up
limb by limb, working upwards
across bone, towards the heart.
But morning comes with small
reprieves of coffee and birdsong.
A tree outside the window
which was simply shadow moments ago
takes back its branches twig
by leafy twig.
And as I take my body back
the sun lays its warm muzzle on my lap
as if to make amends.
Inside this clay Horlicks jug
The old Horlicks jug reminded me of my youth and cold nights sitting in front of the TV with my parents. My mother would make us a Horlicks and milk drink before bed. I still remember its smell and its sweet malty taste.
It also reminded me of this poem:
This Clay Jug
by Kabir
Inside this clay jug there are canyons
and pine mountains, and the maker of
canyons and pine mountains!
All seven oceans are inside, and
hundreds of millions of stars.
The acid that tests gold is there, and
the one who judges jewels.
And the music from the strings
no one touches, and the source of
all water.
If you want the truth, I will tell you the truth:
Friend, listen: the God whom I love is inside.
A Fine Bush Cabin
Some people love solitude. They love the thought of living off the beaten track in their own private paradise, away from the foibles and the kids of Mr and Mrs Average.
This is not a slight on average. Average is what most of us are, me included, but still people (like me) dream of it not being so.
Anyway, we stayed in this cabin a few years back. It was way too far off the beaten track even for me, but I enjoyed the stay and I also enjoyed the leaving, and I also enjoyed the early morning espresso coffee we managed to find on long drive home.
