MONDAY MORNING MUSINGS:

“The wild swan’s death-hymn took the soul
Of that waste place with joy
Hidden in sorrow”
–Alfred Tennyson, “The Dying Swan” (1830)

The sun in slumber,
a bird, head tucked beneath wings,
waiting for the storm to pass
trees lashed by sharp-tongued wind
who screams with frozen breath, “I’m here.”

Now marmalade sky–
Seemingly gone, light returns
again and again, dazzling
us with beauty and hope
a better tomorrow comes.

Do we wait for if?
Do we sail the ship of fools,
or look for wiser pilots?
Each dawn a new page turned,
some dog-eared, marked for remembrance

in sorrow or joy,
we’re prisoners of finite
who hold the infinite, too—
memories of the past
and dreams of the future

we inhale stardust
as star-bird melodies call
the reminder of always
we are connected too–
sky, sea, earth, forever embraced.

Not much to say this week. It snowed, and it’s cold. Joy and sorrow.People are still spewing crazy theories and trying to destroy our democracy and the world, but the sun comes up. There’s poetry. There’s so much that I love.

If you’re a poet, and on Twitter, I’m hosting @TopTweetTuesday tomorrow for Black Bough Poetry. Post a short, imagist poem, if you’d like. See @TopTweetTuesday for more details.

Merril’s Movie Club:
We watched two movies this week. We both really liked Swan Song (2021). I don’t know if you can view it without Apple TV+, but if you can, I highly recommend it (unless you only like action movies). 😊 Starring Marhershala Ali (he was in Moonlight) as a man who is terminally ill, and who must make a decision about whether to replace himself with a clone or not. It is beautifully done.
We also watched Last Night in Soho (Amazon Prime rental). I also really enjoyed it—though I didn’t expect it to turn as dark as it did. It’s very clever and beautifully and creatively filmed. It’s been described as “trippy.” The story involves a young woman who goes to London to follow her dream to be a fashion designer. She’s obsessed by the 1960s, and (sort of) time-travels back there. Lots of ‘60s music and references. I think this may have been the last movie Diana Rigg was in.

We’re also watching The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window on Netflix. It’s a spoof of that genre, but there’s also a mystery. It’s a fun show with short, bingeable episodes and Kristen Bell. Sometimes that’s all you want, right?

Random Food and Cat Photos