Monday Morning Musings:
But still, the Light
“But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars.”
–from Martin Luther King, Jr., Final Speech: “I’ve been to the mountaintop”
In bleak January,
the unclothed trees shiver,
and the sun has cast herself
into the ice,
but still, she rises.
The fields are rimed with frost,
and all paths seem slippery,
a time for caution, not over-confidence,
yet, through shadows,
some rise–
there’s a crossroad, a moment
when the tipping point comes
and a heart so engraved by
the acid of hate implodes–
or heals–scared with gold,
kintsugi hearts, with their own beauty
like winter landscapes—
and you watch as the geese soar up
past the morning moon, working together
to find the blue
that you saw in dreams,
that you see now,
and you think of ancient dead stars,
ghost-broadcasting faint photons,
not infinite, but as close as we can imagine,
the luminous beacons of time,
guiding us, appearing like heroes
that glow with incandescent fire,
not eternal, but with voices that continue
to transmit, like pulsars, blinking, spinning.
tilting toward tomorrow.
I used some of Jane’s Random Words for the poem. And yes, Jane, more stars. They slipped in while I was writing, and I couldn’t ignore their twinkling, or Dr. King.
Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I’m not a big fan of holidays such as this where people pay lip-service to someone while ignoring what he or she stood for the rest of the year. (Example, anyone lauding MLK who also seeks to suppress voting access.) However, I was moved by Heather Cox Richardson’s letter today on heroes.
Between the weather and work, I didn’t go anywhere this week, except to get a shingles vaccine. My husband and I both went. We know how to have an exciting date.😏 I got a few walks in though.
It was a good week for soup and bread.
We finished Season 2 of the wonderful spy series Slow Horses on Apple TV. Imagine if George Smiley and his circle were mostly inept, but sometimes stumbled into something that they solved. Then we watched Black Bird, also good but disturbing, as it involves a serial killer. The disturbing part comes with the serial killer’s recounting things that viewers do not see, but can imagine. Excellent performances.
On Saturday night we watched Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Netflix), which was thoroughly enjoyable. I think this one is better than the first. Since it seemed like “a popcorn movie,” I made some! And we ate it with a finger-food dinner.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
thank you for sharing this on this special day
Thank you very much for reading and commenting, Beth. 💙
Your post today made my mind slide immediately to Maya Angelou’s poem “On the Pulse of Morning” recited at Clinton’s first inaugural: “Lift up your eyes upon
This day breaking for you.
Give birth again
To the dream.”
I may also have been thinking of her wonderful piece “Still, I rise” written earlier.
You always do a wonderful job of evoking meaning and emotion from landscapes and sky-scapes, Merril. On another note: I enjoyed “The Fragile Heart” on Acorn, but I think you can stream it elsewhere.
Thank you very much for your detailed, thoughtful comment, Marian.
And what a compliment that my words sent your mind sliding to Maya Angelou.
I will look for The Fragile Heart. We’re catching up on Masterpiece Mysteries now. 🙂
Beautiful writing, Merril. I barely looked at the pics I was so engrossed with your words. Then I went back and looked at the pics. Well, it’s still pretty where you are, icy, lacy and somewhat barren.
We’re having soup tonight! It was only -4c, and partly sunny. Cripes 2 days ago it was -18c.
Now, back to grey for 5/6 days.. usually they lie, so we’ll see.
Ice pellets on Tuesday, the excitement is unending!
Signing off with a laugh!
Thank you so much. I’m happy that you were engrossed in the words!
Enjoy your soup!
I will! (no soup emoji..???)
🍜 🙂
Lovely, Merril. The opening photo is stunning!
Thank you very much, Jill!
We finally got some blue skies this morning.
If MLK were still with us, he would have a lot to say. Things we need to hear.
But who is listening to anyone but themselves these days? It’s a sad day for me, because so many of his words have been distorted or forgotten. (K)
We have blue skies here, too–still kind of windy though.
I think that’s why I liked HCR’s letter so much today because of her reminder that there are heroes everywhere amongst all of us flawed human beings.
The poem is mesmeric; the photos dreamy; the food delicious. And I agree about those days set aside for what should be remembered all year round
Thank you so much, Derrick, for your kind words.
I’m happy you agree. 🙂
I love the alliterative line “tilting toward tomorrow”! It could be interpreted so many different ways. Your soup and bread look really good. I’m still eating zucchini soup from the freezer. Word to the wise: don’t underestimate the zucchini plant’s ability to produce.
Thank you very much. I’m happy you saw that line could be interpreted in many ways.
I’ve never grown zucchini, but I do know that. Enjoy your soup!
You’re welcome, Merril. My husband and I have started referring to the soup as just “the green.”
🤣🤣
I love your concluding musings on the stars, Merril: they give us so much to wonder about!
Thank you very much, Ingrid. 💙
Beautiful poem and photos! That soup looks very good! 🙂
Thank you so much, Linda! The soup was very good. 🙂
I’m going through older emails of posts I missed, like this one 🙄
No, no, I’m not procrastinating from doing something useful…
I loved Glass Onion, too. Definitely popcorn movie and so enjoyable.
Thank you for looking back, and I don’t care if you’re procrastinating or not. You have a lot going on, and a poetry break sounds perfect. 💙
I thank you for your support in my inability to get anything done. The worrying part is mostly over; the visiting is a royal pain in the arse because the clinic is on the northern side of Montreal so I have to basically cross the whole width (using whatever way Waze suggests because otherwise, it’s a crap shoot on where traffic is blocked) and the return home, unless I find something else to do, or go later – which I am not in love with, that means 1 hour (if I’m lucky) to get back home. Ugh. I have decided that today, I shall go visit our MMFA (Montreal Museum of Fine Arts) and then go visit, returning home by 7-ish… Rinse and repeat until Wednesday, when I bring her home to my house for a month.
That definitely does cut into the day! I just looked at a map of Montreal. Yeah, traveling through any city is a pain, I guess, but I’m sure she appreciates your visiting. And now I understand why you’ve been caring for Omelette. Enjoy your museum visit!