Sail

Sail on, O Ship of Time!

I'll make another passage

if you'll have me.

- Ralph Murre

In The Freeze

even in the freeze

of this wintering woodlot

a dark stream flowing

- arem

Somewhere

December in Colonia del Sacramento, Uraguay

somewhere a flower blooms

while somewhere a bulb holds life frozen

somewhere there is dancing

while somewhere a bomb ends the music

somewhere there is laughter

and our little planet spins night into day

and wobbles so slightly

from the weight of tears

and the lightness of joy

- Ralph Murre

joyeux noel

The best to all of you - peace, love, a silent night.

Don't loose sight of it climbing to the cuckoo's nest.

- Ralph Murre

Dusting Off Jesus

"If there is no God,

Not everything is permitted to man,

He is still his brother's keeper

And he is not permitted to sadden his brother,

By saying that there is no God."

- Czeslaw Milosz

Readers of this blog include members of several of the world's major faiths and many others of no faith at all. I am not a member of any religious group, though I was brought up in the Christian tradition. I now consider most religion to be myth, but I say that in no way to belittle the faith of anyone - I consider most mythology to be full of very real lessons and values which have had great import to people down through the ages, and continue to be important today.

At a time of year when many of us are observing holidays, Holy Days, and perhaps idly wishing peace to our fellow humans, let me reflect for a minute on the so-called followers of Christ. First off, how can they possibly advocate going to war, no matter what the justification? What purported teaching of Christ allows revenge? And when, exactly, did God become the property of the right-wing?

"Blessed are the peacemakers", Jesus is supposed to have said. "Whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also."... "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good for them that hate you."... "forgive men their trespasses"..."Be wise as serpents," he is supposed to have said,"and harmless as doves." Is anybody picking up on a theme here?

I, frankly, don't know if the Christian religion has any more merit than the Santa Claus myth, but Virginia, if you choose to believe in Christ, hadn't you better listen to his words?

Peace be with you, all of you - believers, unbelievers, seekers and suckers - if you think there's a God, I think there are a bunch of 'em.

- Ralph Murre

aa

Patience

so darkly perched

to await the tide's offering

unloved cormorant

- arem

Three Things

New friends in Buenos Aires taught me a proverb which I hadn't heard before -

En la vida, debes hocer tres cosas:

- Tener un hijo

- Plantar un arbol

- Escribir un libro

In your life, you must do three things:

- Raise a child

- Plant a tree

- Write a book

I like it, probably because it's the only "To Do" list which I've ever completed. Well, I suppose it's true that I only helped a bit in raising children and the book is a very slim volume of poetry, but there were lots of trees.

-RM

Back from Buenos Aires

The Artist Claudio Barragan,

photo by Nancy Vaughn

Morning In A Strange City

A mouth full of how-do-you-say?
and ears full of birdsong and builders,
eyes full of children and treetops,
red tile and red wines and green vines,
whitewash and washed clothes
and everywhere sun.

And shadow.

Evita’s air and fresh breeze and café doble
and diesel and dogshit and life
and death and jasmine and jazz.

And cats.

And the disappeared who do not disappear.
Oh, do not disappear. Oh, never disappear.

And hope. There is fresh breeze and hope.
And there are smiles.
Even the old woman smiles
as she walks by Cementario de la Recoleta.
Even the mask-maker smiles
as he makes his unsmiling masks.

- Ralph Murre

gotta fly, man

gotta see some other place,

continent, hemisphere.

spin things backward.

coupla weeks maybe.

or 'til new year's. or ground hog's.

back by mayday for sure.

- r.

From Down Here

Thanks to the mothers and the motherless. Thanks to the Ho Chunk and the Crow. Thanks to the poultry, thanks to the yam, thanks to the farmer and the fisher. Thanks to the one who does. Thanks to the well-wisher.

Thanks to the fathers and the prodigal sons. Thanks to the bird and the bee. Thanks to mechanics, thanks to cows. Thanks to the comic and the rain-cloud and the sun and the humble and the proud.

Thanks to the painters and the crimson paint; thanks to the poets and the words. Thanks for the paper. Thanks for the pen. Thanks for erasers and time. Thanks for rivers flowing. Thanks for strength to climb.

- Ralph Murre

All About Two

We've reached the second anniversary of the Arem Arvinson Log, and by coincidence (sheer or shear?) this is post #222. Forgive my moment of self-congratulation, but I guess I'm fairly happy with the blog as a body of work. If you're a newcomer, a serious blog addict, or otherwise totally without a life of your own, have a look through the archives.

Thank you all for dropping by, and thanks especially to those who've given me a link from their own blog. Stop in whenever you're in the neighborhood.

Peace,

- Ralph Murre, on behalf of Arem Arvinson

misread

I read a poem

by Louise Gluck -

she said birds were darting

in low shrubs.

I thought she said

they were dating

in low shrubs,

but I guess I was just thinking

of you and me.

- Ralph Murre

Windsongs

Have faith

breathes the wind

that pulls men to sea

Not too much

moans the wind

that eats sails

Not too much

agrees the wave

- Ralph Murre

Immersion

It's not so bad when I think in terms of a poem or a drawing, but when I allow myself to begin to think of a book - a book of poems and drawings - any pretense of good housekeeping just goes to hell. Tables and desks piled too high for anything more, the floor a few layers thick, I wade through piles of paper, roll in words and images and daydreams, surface occasionally for food and drink (oh, yes, more drink please) and then slide back beneath the surface, where I can hold my breath for a very long time.

Making Perfect

They Practice

The pianist and the violinist practice,

and I get out a pen and practice, too,

because

I'm just having coffee and why not

get in a few words of practice;

the warm sun on my back,

the music on my ear,

the world still

this moment.

- Ralph Murre

Packers, Thirty-Four / Vikings, Zero

Flame

Easy

How much easier
to write about the tamarack’s
golden flame
the last flicker of warmth
against purple winter’s
majesty
than to speak
of our own fading hopes
of immortality

to let the pen express visions
of V’s of geese
receding into falling night
than to talk with a lover
about
the approaching darkness
in which the warm V
of our desire
our desirability
heads south

easier to project
into metaphor of autumn
and winter
than to accept the coming
of no spring no summer

the trout lily’s bloom
the red robin’s return
not for us

easier to tell the world
of fortitude

than to tell family
of fear.

Tomorrow begins November
we shall wear brave masks
tonight.

- Ralph Murre 2004

this piece was written for Halloween,

and appears in my book, "Crude Red Boat"

And speaking of cameras,

(and I'm pretty sure I was, a couple of days ago,) I've got to tell you of a wonderful experience I had recently. The Canon SD230 digital, which had served so well, was overcome by some supernatural sort of glitch which rendered it more or less a pain in the ass. Since it was three or four years out of warranty, I decided to call Canon, just to find out which current model might accept the same periferal gear I had purchased for the old camera. I clenched my jaw and prepared for the endless horror of talking to machines and waiting for hours which I was sure would follow. WRONG! Within moments, I was talking to Johanna, a real, live human who was totally competent, caring, and courteous. We talked about new cameras that might fill the bill and then Johanna asked about the nature of the problem I was having. I explained, and also explained that my warranty was long gone. Well, she said, I'm going to send you shipping labels and all you'll have to do is pack the camera, and shipping will be paid to our service center, where they'll either fix your camera or make you a very good deal on a replacement. That sounded good, but not as good as the result - within ten days, I received a refurbished SD630 (!), a much newer and much improved camera, at absolutely no cost to me!

To receive terrific service from an electronics company in an electronic age is not something I can take for granted, and I must certainly recommend to my friends, that if they are in the market for any sort of device that Canon makes, they should look no farther. Incidentally, mine is not a unique experience, as I told this story to a friend who, almost word for word, had the same story to tell about Canon.

- Ralph Murre

Chuckles

chuckles of a pram-boat
on wavelets
haunting laugh of loon
quiet evening shower
tears of the crescent moon

-Ralph Murre

Lighting

Changing Light


Sunlight, thick as syrup
and golden flowing
on sweet afternoon
of saxophone serenade
but bass, the note
of discord beneath
and chill, the shadow
where he stands
as she leaves, again.
Wind where music was
and shrill, now
the thinning light
as metal on slate.
Tin whistle shrill.

- Ralph Murre 2006