You are currently browsing the archives for May, 2009.
One year ago.
We walked in the darkness, the glow of lights far away. The mosquitoes attacked if we sat too long, and so we walked. The night was damp, the seats surrounding Bahji covered in dew, the rocks less dusty than usual.
We walked up the stairs and down again, we bowed our heads at the threshhold and let tears fall down our faces.
I stood in the room where the Blessed Beauty was freed from this mortal life, and felt the universe revolve around that spot.
We stood at the top of marble columns and looked out over the world, and we stared into the warm summer night, in surprise and awe at this wonderful luck. How were we here at this moment, in this place?
We told stories, whispers that carried through to hearts, and we looked up at a full sky of stars, down at our feet that carried us down the silent paths, and at the light that reflected off our eyes and souls.
Let not your hearts be perturbed, O people, when the glory of My Presence is withdrawn, and the ocean of My utterance is stilled. In My presence amongst you there is a wisdom, and in My absence there is yet another, inscrutable to all but God, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing. Verily, We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high and a company of Our favored angels.
(Baha’u'llah, Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u'llah, p. 139)
I wait in silence as they whisper
a thousand shouting voices drowning out
the sounds of every love they have ever known
I wait in heartbeats as they plunder
the only things of worth they have ever owned
And in my silence is acceptance
of the fiery ways that steer us on
In my dreams I see you standing
silent, true, tall and strong
There is no distance I can travel
that takes me further away from you
The words we wrote, the moments stilled
the tears I never cried
There is so much beauty in all of this
and yet we never tried
Can we keep a million secrets
of the times we never shared?
How can we sleep in peace forever
knowing that this is all we had?
This is for the never was,
and all it could have been
This is for the future children
and the moments born within
This is for every second
I never knew was real
This is for all the times I never told you
how it is I truly feel
“Raise ye a clamour like unto a roaring sea; like a prodigal cloud, rain down the grace of heaven. Lift up your voices and sing out the songs of the Abha Realm. Quench ye the fires of war, lift high the banners of peace, work for the oneness of humankind and remember that religion is the channel of love unto all peoples. Be ye aware that the children of men are sheep of God and He their loving Shepherd, that He careth tenderly for all His sheep and maketh them to feed in His own green pastures of grace and giveth them to drink from the wellspring of life. Such is the way of the Lord. Such are His bestowals. Such, from among His teachings, is His precept of the oneness of mankind.”
(Selections from the Writings of Abdu’l-Baha, p. 35)
“When eloquence of expression, beauty of sense and sweetness of composition unite with new melodies the effect is ever great, especially if it be the anthem of the verses of oneness and the songs of praise to the Lord of Glory.”
(Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha v1, p. 59)
I worked. Did chores.
Planted things in the garden. Crossing my fingers that they won’t die or get eaten by rabbits.
Made chocolate covered strawberries and apricots.
Another article that I wrote went up on Soulpancake.
Enjoyed the tulips in the gardens at the Baha’i House of Worship.
Saw Star Trek and LOVED IT. The nerd in me was so, so happy.
Performed my poetry onstage in Chicago for the first time in years.
Had strange/wonderful dreams: riots, friends, Haifa, happy, sad, beautiful.
Went to a meeting with the youth and some special visitors from Haifa.
Said goodbye to some friends moving across the world (as usual).
Filled out applications. Tried to make plans.
Just in case you were wondering, this is what I’ve been spending a lot of my time working on.
You should come, it will be great!
(For a larger version, click on the photo.)
Also read this article.
We went for a walk on Sunday near the river, and I found my frog prince (ok, he is a toad, but the principle applies). Unfortunately, he did not change into a human being.
Mr. Toad was quite adorable, however. Just look at him!
for in your eyes a thousand stars stared down at me
the world spun around the clouds in a perfect sky
with a perfect sea and you all around me
time slipped through, down and never existed
time waited, stopped, and counted
the breaths we took, the tears and smiles
the silent prayers, the laughter over coffee
the ocean, the paths, the stones
watched our meandering ways
with angels over our shoulders
every lost moment before
every lost moment since
tallied up in letters and thought
in the dreams of could have been
Last night I went salsa dancing for the first time in nearly 3 years. I couldn’t believe it has been that long.
And then I stepped out on the dance floor, and it was painfully obvious that not only was I very rusty, but woefully untutored. Thankfully, the majority of the people that I danced with were very good, gave me lots of tips, and were quite patient. I learned more last night than I have in years.
However, one individual was particularly self-involved. Sporting a suit and greased-back hair, he thought that he was an exceptional dancer. No interest in being a good dance partner, he really just wanted to show off. Unfortunately, he got a little enthusiastic, and ended up kicking my leg. Very, very painful.
As I hobbled away, I found my friends, who are regulars on the salsa scene. When I told them what had happened, they started laughing. Apparently this guy is rather…infamous. haha. Well, I’ve been initiated, I guess!
Outside of that rather amusing incident, it was fun and I’m glad I went. Even though I’m limping today. 
