Daniel Shore said “Kablooey” on the radio

Some days I am struck by “sound bites.” Little bits and pieces of things I hear seem to come together into a thought, a story, or a feeling. Today I listened to NPR on the way to Denver and back again. I often listen to NPR to get the news or to get some story to lift me above what the news had to bring me down.

I happen to love listening to Daniel Shore. He is, at once, intelligent and slurred, articulate and sarcastic. But today, he said “Kablooey.” He said it on national air time. If that doesn’t describe the world today, I don’t know what does.

Tonight, I listened to the evening programs… Reviews of movies about little girls and trap doors and moms with no time and button eyes…Reviews of new Off Broadway productions about war in Africa and the new and devastating battlefields. And I heard E-Town with Spoon from Austin and Dar Williams. Toss in a little music off my cds from Carrie Newcomer.

Those things coupled with the state of the world, looking at my taxes and studying for a class on life saving colored my world tonight. This is what came together from all the sound bites.


Ruined
Women’s bodies
turned battleground
destroyed for now
and minefields laid
in case of peace in the future
Such battles are also waged
where there is no war
but there is no peace

No body
gets through this life
without scars
save those who exit as they enter
as if they made a wrong turn
on the way to nirvana

There are other battles
that ravage us without weapons
leaving behind the schrapnel
of loss
Need
Pain
We are left to look at the world
with button eyes
that cannot truly see
afraid to die
but more afraid to live
scratching at the Earth
to turn up dust
and a morsel of hope
or cheese

I count
on the mercy of the fallen
that we will help each other up
that we will pretend
there is no risk
enough to heal each other
to build something firm
where once stood a house of cards
and to make
a life more important
than making a living

I join the chorus of voices
saying “enough”
and hands working
to set things right
My better self
would not question the power of love
but would pick up a shovel
and uncover what is right with the world.

LB
2/7/09

Finding Grace on Skis

Sometimes Grace tastes a lot like snow
It has the fragrance of joy
And the essence of good friends
It is as clear as a cloudless sky
And has the quiet hiss of sliding
between the moments

It is easy to find Grace
On the top of a mountain
At altitudes too high for angst to breathe
Seemingly farther from the pull of gravity
Closer to the arms of Mother Nature
Or heaven
Or the Sage who sits on top

If, by chance, those niggling thoughts follow you
Grace will help you escape
For a while
By showing you the white spaces between the trees
And the secret stashes of powdery snow that muffle everything
And by reminding you to let go
Of that belly laugh and whoop that is bubbling up
From deep inside

Grace always lingers
In the edges of your mind
Waiting for the chance to touch you
Or to push you over the edge
Into the experience that is life.

2/2/09
LB