Rising, Setting, the Sound

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Monday Morning Musings:

Rising, Setting, the Sound

The flame consuming marshmallow clouds,
the carmine mouth, swallowing, drowned and resurrected
the ineffable ephemerality of the blaze, the endurance of the light

echoes from black holes, each star with its own voice, our sun,
a sonorous, soothing om

coaxing both shoots of chartreuse and emerald, and
sandy beige, terracotta, and taupe, the violet sky against
winter white,

each rising and setting a gift, a reminder
of what was, what is, and what might be

disaster or promise. The wine in the glass


carries the substance of long-ago grapes, our bodies
carry infinitesimal specks of all who came before,
the light
in particles too tiny to see
they pass around and through us,
in the songs of the universe,
star to sea,
bird to butterfly—
the calls of crows warning and reminding—
look up, watch out.

Here are some cool sounds:

Light echoes from a black hole

Our sun

Everything seems strange and a bit off these days, doesn’t it? The rise of fascism all over the world, and people believing the most far-fetched lies (let’s call them what they are). And the increasing climate extremes all over the world. Early this morning, I was thinking of Benjamin Franklin’s remarks about the rising sun of our new nation:

“Doctr. FRANKLIN looking towards the Presidents Chair, at the back of which a rising sun happened to be painted, observed to a few members near him, that Painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising from a setting sun. I have said he, often and often in the course of the Session, and the vicisitudes of my hopes and fears as to its issue, looked at that behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting: But now at length I have the happiness to know that it is a rising and not a setting Sun.”

Sources: https://www.ushistory.org/more/sun.htm (has photos of the chair)

https://avalon.law.yale.edu/18th_century/debates_917.asp

But I wonder now, if we’re seeing it setting. My friend is convinced that all young people are apathetic about politics, and they are misinformed because they get their news from Tiktok. That is what she hears from her children and grandchildren. I’m sure that’s true for many, but we’re all influenced by those around us. Those surrounded by MAGA types think everyone thinks that way. My own family and friends do not include anyone like that, so that’s my bubble. But it’s not the full story; it never is. In Hawaii, the governor Josh Green applauded the children and teens who had sued the state government. He agreed they had a constitutional right to a clean climate. These young people are not alone in trying to make the world better.

I’m fired up by reading Heather Cox Richardson and Will Bunch. I’m writing postcards to swing states and donating money. I’m not a rabble-rousing-march-in-the-streets-type of person, but don’t want to be complacent. I don’t want to be one of those people who sit back and say, “Oh well. We can’t do anything.” Look at how well that went in the 1930s.

On a brighter note, the summer solstice was beautiful. 😉 We sat in the shade at William Heritage Winery, and then we watched the sun set over the Delaware River at Red Bank Battlefield. On Friday, the heatwave began with extreme (for June) heat and humidity.

36 thoughts on “Rising, Setting, the Sound”

  3. That’s a beautiful boardwalk/fencing/bridge, not sure but the wood looks like old oak.

    The more we know of the world, the more frightening it gets, but at least we do know far more of what’s happening, and there’s no excuse whatsoever for ignorance.

    • Thank you! It’s the little pier at the park. I’ve no idea what kind of wood it is, and boards have been replaced several times. The wood looks prettier in the photo. 😉

      You’re right, there’s no excuse for ignorance. Those spreading the misinformation understand though that many will accept whatever they hear or read.

  4. Our planet feels hot or cold, depending on which hemisphere you inhabit in this season. I was surprised at the jarring noises from light echoing in the black hole. The sun sonority seemed calmer, based on the segment included here. Thanks, Merril.

    • Thank you for listening to the links, Marian. I thought it was so cool.
      Yes, in the southern hemisphere, they celebrated the winter solstice, but even so, all over the world, there are extremes. I

  6. Everything feels off. Climate, politics, etc.

    Love your photos and I agree with Jane – that boardwalk/bridge is particularly lovely.

    How cool are those sounds?

  8. Those sounds from NASA were interesting, but not at all what I imagine. Much too harsh.

    I have friends who despair because their children refuse to vote (“they’re all the same”). I don’t know how any thinking person can say that. What they mean is that the candidates don’t pass some kind of purity test they’ve devised, which, of course, no one can ever pass. I have a few friends also that are MAGA people. Intelligent people, yet somehow they believe the most far-fetched manipulations of facts.

    Yes, call them lies. Stop equivocating. The Press is so guilty of that.

    In the meantime, as you say, we must do what we can. (K)

    • Thank you for reading. I’m imagine that turning the data into sound is might be refined differently in other techniques or over time. I still think it’s cool.

      I don’t understand how people can say they’re all the same either. And you don’t have to agree with everything about a candidate. But really, it’s Biden or the end of our democracy. I don’t get it.

  9. I enjoyed this post of verse mixed with your images, and the narrative on what’s happening in life and in politics and the environment. I’m sure the founders of both our nations would feel a little despair at the rise and threat of MAGA and the MAGA-lite movement that is building here.

    The NASA sounds are a reminder of just how vast and miraculous our universe is, and circling back to our abominable ‘stewardship’ of our home planet. Thank you for what you do in creating and working to raise awareness of the danger society is slipping towards.

  10. Lines like these give me perspective: “each rising and setting a gift, a reminder
    of what was, what is, and what might be” You know, I love it when you talk (write) politics 😉 I am trying to keep my anxieties in check. The other day a friend and I were reminiscing about when we felt the act of voting gave us power. Now there is this is dread that our votes will be disregarded, tossed aside. I do live in a news bubble, just reading The Guardian, Heather, and some independent news outlets. (A new one for me is the Florida Phoenix which is part of an affiliation of independent state news rooms. Some very good investigative journalism.) I don’t have much interaction with young people, but I do know there are some bright young stars in politics right now, like Maxwell Frost (U.S. Congressman from Florida) and they give me hope. Meanwhile. … I need to go back to letter writing, encouraging people to vote!

    • Thank you so much, Marie!
      I am anxious, too, but I’m trying to be very cautiously optimistic. I know “the cult” are in the minority, but it’s a question of getting the votes and, as you say, making certain they count and are counted. Did you Boerbert won her primary? Who votes for these complete idiots?

  11. Hi Merril, a wonderful and vivid poem as always. Young people do know about politics, a great deal, in fact. My sons and nephews new far more than most adults about politics all over the world. The research and form their own opinions. Lovely photographs.

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