Welcome to Saturday ...

open thread.jpg

Happy Moon Day

The Moon was but a Chin of Gold
A Night or two ago—
And now she turns Her perfect Face
Upon the World below—

Her Forehead is of Amplest Blonde—
Her Cheek—a Beryl hewn—
Her Eye unto the Summer Dew
The likest I have known—

Her Lips of Amber never part—
But what must be the smile
Upon Her Friend she could confer
Were such Her Silver Will—

And what a privilege to be
But the remotest Star—
For Certainty She take Her Way
Beside Your Palace Door—

Her Bonnet is the Firmament—
The Universe—Her Shoe—
The Stars—the Trinkets at Her Belt—
Her Dimities—of Blue—

~ Emily Dickinson

Now. And now, a tiny foot, like
a shooting star, draws an arc
inside my belly.

But if my belly were the whole
sky, would I wake at night to rise like this,
cumbersome as the moon?

And would the moon reveal so
much to me-the heavy globe she is
behind the bright disc, expanding, contracting?

~ Jody Gladding. Eclipse

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I'll rise.

Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.

Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.

Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?

Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.

You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.

Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

~ Maya Angelou, Still I Rise

Today's image: Ruins Of An Ancient Greek Temple Of Apollo At Delphi ...

Share
up
0 users have voted.

Comments

smiley7's picture

up
0 users have voted.

I live--nay, thrive--even more than your other OPs. First, had we had a female offspring, her name would have been Emily, named after one of your muses this morning. Second, while I appreciate a beautiful natural site, I am not typically as awed by them as I am by, say, the musings of Ms. Dickinson. An exception was Delphi.

During a summer trip to Greece, the heat day after day was challenging, especially with not a cloud in the sky. But, somehow, mists appeared at Delphi. I was half waiting for a message from the oracle myself. Didn't get one, but I can see why the ancients imagined? knew? they had.

Thank you for your faithful and lovely starts to our weekend. Have a good one, everyone.

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@HenryAWallace

photo from Greeka.

Oops must have tapped save, too soon.

Imagine playing on the Greek stage, especially the amphitheater pictured. Been a thought in back of the mind for a long while.

Tim Robbins and The Actor's Gang also comes to mind.

In The New Colossus, The Actors' Gang members tell their ancestors' stories, their struggles and their journeys from oppression to freedom. The New Colossus celebrates the courage and great character of the refugees who came to this country throughout the last 300 years. The ensemble of twelve reflects the great diversity that has defined who we are as a nation; The New Colossus is a celebration of our diversity.

Set somewhere between the 19th century and now, the play tells the story of forced migration and the constant struggle for survival and dignity in an uncertain and hostile environment. The members of The Acting Company are from different parts of the world; they tell their stories, each in a different language, and each in different dress. https://www.broadwayworld.com/los-angeles/article/THE-NEW-COLOSSUS-Direc...

Wow, how splendid to be in the Gang's ensemble, hey?

Never been to Greece, thank you for taking me there this morning and into good thoughts.

Always a pleasure.

up
0 users have voted.

@smiley7

playing ancient Greek theaters. The accoustics were perfect. Stand in the middle of the open area, speak in a normal, conversational tone and everyone in the topmost rows can hear you as though you were speaking nine inches away from him or her. (Nine inches is merely my estimate, not official.)

We normally did not travel with tours, but, for some reason, we took one around the Greek countryside. Our tour guide had the tour sit in the top row of the theater. However, our son, then six, would not move far from the guide's side. As a result, I observed how softly the guide was speaking. Sight lines seemed pretty good, too, best I could tell.

Must be hard to overact when you are not "projecting." Not that you ever would have overacted.

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@HenryAWallace
Fun anecdote about your son staying with tour guide, not wanting to miss a beat, i imagine.

That word projection is American made and have encountered it all my life; however, rooting the voice down is proper technique: see the great Cicely Berry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cicely_Berry

A dead give-away of actors without good voice training is when one can see the veins in their neck protruding and to put this another way when an actor projects, he/she actually traps his/her inner voice.

A couple years of daily training with large doses of relaxation improves this discipline. Thought you may enjoy this tidbit, hope so.

up
0 users have voted.

@smiley7

We hit Egypt on that trip too. We were just about to go from a one income family to a two- income family, and all three of us had the entire summer off, something that was never going to happen again, as best we could tell. However, son and I wanted to go to Egypt, his kindergarten class having studied ancient Egypt a bit, and spouse wanted Greece. We couldn't agree. Hence, both.

We were very frugal, except as to our hotels in Egypt. Because a/c, pool, water and food and a six year old. However, I'm the one who got sick, most likely because I ate a banana from the fruit basket in our hotel room, imagining that its skin would have insulated it from whatever. (Montezuman's revenge has nothing on Pharaoh's Revenge.)

Everyone said the trip would be wasted on our son because of his age. I wish they all could have attended the slide show he narrated for his paternal grandparents afterward. Neither of the adults on whom the trip was supposedly not wasted could have come close. And all those ancient Egyptian and Greek names? "Tut the Uncommon" was the only one he mispronounced, probably because he had never seen it spelled! And which grandparent would have preferred the correct pronunciation, anyway?

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@HenryAWallace
If ive shared this story before, forgive me. When my son was in kindergarten, i received a call from it's principal asking permission to place my little one's painting in an upcoming exhibit at the Carrboro Art Center. Sure, i gave permission.

Sunday came and my ex and i wanted to laze away the day, but out of that duty, we went along to the center where we were surprised to see that unlike our thinking, this wasn't a children's show, it was a juried one, adult's art and to our amazement on the center wall at eye height hung A porcupine in Costume.

He went on to study fine art in college, but seems to have left it for music now-a-days.

Love your stories, henry.

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

thick, i realize our mountain is in a cloud and it's hot, unusually hot for this elevation.

Kind of day tempers may fly and one may get mugged.

Not a lot of necessity on today's calendar, thank goodness.

Want to say i really enjoyed ninety-nine's conversations this week, thanks to all.

Audrey just came to mind:

up
0 users have voted.
enhydra lutris's picture

no moon, our week is now divorced from the sky and the small routines and rituals of our existence spin on by attached to some mechanical clock that dictates what doors open when. Today I go to find things to cook and eat for the following seven day season of this year, only to see it repeat again next week. Meanwhile, you scatter eternal atemporal poetry across my morning, available at the press of a button. What a wonderful way to start the day, thanks.

Oh, and have a great one today, and a great "weekend", or beginning, as the case may be.

up
0 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

smiley7's picture

@enhydra lutris

Too hot to plan much for today; normally i veggie shop on Saturday mornings, too. Having said that, i mean too hot for me as a glance of the weather map shows that those in the Piedmont, plains and coastal areas are enduring severe temperatures

And, it's humid. We're the lightest yellow on map. Phew, to be in a city center with diesel bus exhaust fuming the streets.

Hope everyone takes care and stays as cool as possible, i see many c99er's will be impacted by this heatwave.

Thanks for reading and happy shopping.

up
0 users have voted.

@smiley7 a scary, mean-looking map. Everyone out there take care. Hope you get relief from the heat soon.
More moon songs;

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@randtntx
Dark clouds circled all day, bet we have a light show tonight, heat's abating as evening comes and a breeze flows.

Used to play the Harvest Moon album over and over around 70, i guess.

In keeping with today's theme, hope your evening walks in moonlight.

up
0 users have voted.

order of the day.
Thanks for the poetry my friend.

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@QMS
Hope you're out there tacking in the wind.

up
0 users have voted.
Anja Geitz's picture

Reminded me of a time where reading Japanese poetry conjured up a quiet stillness and the evocative feeling of nature inside what was an otherwise noisy Manhattan apartment.

"Black Hair
Tangled in a thousand strands
Tangled my hair and
Tangled my tangled memories
Of our long nights of lovemaking."

~ Yosano Akiko

"When I gathered flowers
For my girl
From the top of the plum tree
The lower branches
Drenched me with dew."

~ Hitomaro

"I hold your head tight
Between my thighs and press
Against your mouth and
Float away forever in
An orchid boat
On the River of Heaven."

~ Marichiko

up
0 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

smiley7's picture

@Anja Geitz
thank you for brightening this afternoon.

up
0 users have voted.
Anja Geitz's picture

@smiley7

image_12.jpg

up
0 users have voted.

There is always Music amongst the trees in the Garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it. ~ Minnie Aumonier

He was low-hanging fruit

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

@gjohnsit

we will miss his voice.

On another note, Tulsi knocked an NBC interview out of the park around mid-day; don't know how to find or save the vid or i would.

Thanks for sharing, gj.

up
0 users have voted.
magiamma's picture

Thanks, as always for the wonderful OT

long long day...
[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZCSOdi19jQ]

be well

up
0 users have voted.

Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

smiley7's picture

@magiamma
have longed to play father and son in Long Days Journey, even those conversations were a few years ago as time passes quickly; when old.

Playing Gould as i write, perfect.

New group you may wish to share environmental work with; more later as it evolves.

In thirty years, Boston may be Atlanta. Best we learn the meaning of "woke."

Moon blessings to you.

up
0 users have voted.
smiley7's picture

up
0 users have voted.