Words, Music, & Outdoor Adventures

This is one of my favorite poems. I remember reading it for the first time in 1992. I re-discovered it tonight.

The Places Beyond Action*

In these airy balances*
Between music and poetry*
Between kinds of love*
And kinds of deprivation,*
How softly we must tread!*
Of course you, secret person,*
Learned long ago to walk the tightrope*
Between attachment and detachment,
Learned never to stumble on its perilous tensionOe*

Sometimes I hate the somber person*
Who makes me feel like a desert*
Where nothing can bloom,*
For I am the prisoner*
Of what I see*
And can do nothing to change.*

You are alone and should not be,*
Rich Ceres, great giver,*
That is the truth,*
And it is hardly to be borne.*
I bear it with an ill grace,*
Trying to remember*
Your valor, resilience,*
The fertile mind,*
The changing moods*
Like clouds over a landscape*
Of hills and lakes, light-shot,*
Never at rest, expecting surprised.*

In the airy balance
Where we sometimes achieve communion*
It will always be possible
To move outside the deprivations,*
Yours and mine,*
Into a curious detached region*
Natural to you, achieved by me.*
That is music, that is poetry.*
It is the place beyond action*
And even sometimes beyond thought-*
At worst unnatural*
So much must be denied,*
At best, nourishing,*
So much has been accepted.

Abbey Dogis bag of tennis ball and chasing snowmobiles in the back yard
Swimming at Howard Pond when itis 100 degrees*
Hikes in the White Mountains*
Camping at Moose River in St. Johnsbury, VT*
Brad doing the Pain dance when stung by a bee hiking at Killington*
Watching Friends: “Christmas Lookie / Christmas Cookie”, “How U Doing”
Walks around Rutledge*(aka Rutland, VT)
Jaunts on the trail*
Camping on top of Mt Carlo,
Swinger of Birches……*

When you are old and gray and full of sleep
**And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
**And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;*

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
**And loved your beauty with love false or true;
**But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face.*

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
**Murmur, a little sadly, how love fled
**And paced upon the mountains overhead,
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.*

Sitting down by the highway Looking down the road Waiting for a ride
I don’t know where I’ve been Wishing I could fly away
Don’t know where I’m going Wishing I could hide
Oh God this is some shape I’m in
When the only thing that makes me cry Is the kindness in my babys eye
Sometimes I lie awake at night and wonder Where the years have gone
They have all passed under Sleeps dark and silent gate

*From Trifuel:

1.There are good days and there are bad days and sometimes you can’t tell the difference until you start.*
2. Contrary to popular belief, sleep is not overrated. Not in the slightest.*
3. Don’t forget to breathe.*
4. Just because it’s raining doesn’t mean you should cry.*
5. Nobody ever said it was easy.*
6. Pain is temporary. Pride lasts a lifetime. Sometimes even two.*
7. Create a plan and stick to it. It may not always work, but if you stay focused and relaxed, it’ll all end up just fine.*
8. You’ve got to try. No matter what happens in the end, you’ll have bigger regrets from not ever trying.*
9. Strength and courage blossom from the sands of adversity.*
10. Sometimes its the little things that make the big differences*
11. Getting to the starting line is usually a lot harder than getting to the finish.*
12. Listen to your body and listen to your mind. And make sure you know when they’re lying to you.*
13. You can’t change the past and you won’t alter the future. Enjoy right now, right now.*
14. Smile - it does a body good.*
15. Be supportive of others. We’re all in this together.*
16. It’s OK to cry.*
17. Don’t forget to eat. Especially breakfast - that’s a really important one.**

*

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I’ve signed up for the Steamboat Marathon - June 3, 2007

26 Miles in 16 week….. What have I gotten myself into?

Really liked this article about Molly Ivins.*A reminder of how to write compelling essays.
Article from newwest.com