Rain again. (What is with this place, this summer?)
Pain again. (Just enough to make me un-forget what I wish to wish away.)
Then, via the casual internet: the man who walks past our desert house every evening, the man of one thousand warm smiles, has died. Presumably, by his own hand.
Detached & afar, my immediate reaction was to begin planning, requesting & assembling offerings to the psychopomp(s). Fire? No, water. Piles of Alaskan wildflowers & fungi set afloat on the sea…
Then, I had to ask myself, 'Is this about gratitude for the Guides, or is this about me?' At day's end, no pomp for the psychopomps (or myself). I went to sleep still asking the question.
This morning, rain again.
Rain & rain & rain, but this day, no pain.
Then, stumbling casually across the internet: in the most unexpected of places, I fell in love. This new love evoked, renewed, rekindled all my loves. It whispered, love them now.
Now is the time to say, "I love you." Now is the time, because today they are walking past your house, passing you the coffee, pocket-dialing your cell, talking while you are not listening. Tomorrow, you may recognize your neglect & start planning your recompenses.
Don't wait for the psychopomp.
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| Image from www.johnsiddique.co.uk |
I am not prone to dedications. Except for now. Today, this rainy day. This is for all my loves, each & every one of you, kith & kin, old & new... the many of you, the plenty of you (& if you are reading this, it is most likely you are among them).
The Hawthorne Moon, by John Siddique "Isn't It Time We…"
Finally, this shamanic poem is for the psychopomps & the Spirit who walked past our house & kept walking. May he find Freedom & Love at the end of that journey.
Elder Moon, by John Siddique "Freedom or comfort which would you choose?"
9 comments:
Thank you, darling.
Momme
I love you
I love you people... you & yours. And I love all of you who visit silently too.
And Momme, so nice to see your pawprints here. ;)
Thank you so much for sharing these two films. the whole series is up at vimeo, and I'm gradually getting them onto youtube. It was such a pleasure to have a look at your blog, and great for me to find that the shamanic work in these poems has not gone unnoticed.
kindest regards
John Siddique
John,
Wordsmith par excellence, I have fallen in love with your verse. Thank you so much for visiting my corner of the ether -- I am so pleased to have stumbled into yours.
I am delighted to learn that the other videos are already available -- a complete set, an entire turn of the Wheel! I confess, I was concerned that perhaps the project had been brought to a halt. I expect that over time, I will have the opportunity to share each & every video poem here. Thank you for the beautiful work.
As for the shamanic themes, you might be interested to know that I am relatively sure I found your videos while searching for "animism" or a very closely related theme. What good fortune! They speak to me so perfectly.
~ Moma
Hi Momo
Bless you, and thank you again. I am so glad they speak to you. I was a bit concerned when I was writing them a few years back that the spiritual nature of the pieces would either be too much for some, or unnoticed at all.
here is the link to all the moon poems on vimeo so you can take a peek https://vimeo.com/album/1575197
and now they are on youtube too, prompted by your blog to finish putting them up there.
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL02E8C6B1AD611A42
vimeo is higher quality which is why i put them there first.
The way these films got made was magical itself. peopel gave their time, love, energy and creative skills to help the poems have a life beyond the page. I am most grateful to Katie who did all the music. just wait to you hear it all in one go.. She is amazing.
have a great day
John
Ooooh. Thank you for the Vimeo link (& I agree Vimeo is better having HQ). I love -- no wait -- LOVE the Hazel Moon poem (!). I am also very fond of the darkness poem (Ivy Moon) as I have a certain love of the Darkness. They are all so real, so relevant & of course, magical.
As for the music, I believe it adds the perfect compliment that pushes the imagery & narrative over the edge from compelling to extraordinary -- you could not have found a better partner.
Sometimes I too feel hesitant about spiritual writing & perhaps this is why I only just began writing in the last year. I've decided that for me, it isn't really about other people anymore. I have some pushy muses & this stuff just has to come out. So, it is irrelevant if others think my words & thoughts are completely batty, or offensive, or not worth the bother. Then again, I am not vying for a position in the professional market. In fact, I'm not vying for any position. I just know I must write... I keep meaning to write about that, but I never get around to it b/c I find myself writing other things.
I am certain I will find ways of weaving your films into further writing here -- I already have a place for the Hazel Moon. I've been holding back on a piece about conceptions re: the Earth, or Earth Mother, or however one understands it. I think it will fit perfectly. I am so grateful for your work. Thank you. Thank you.
Dear Moma
please don't be hesitant about writing of spiritual matters, the world needs art and true spirituality now more than ever in these times of greed and hate and deliberate delusion. write your pieces free as if no one need ever see them, and then after a while when some time has passed then decide. the paper can take it, and no one need ever see. that's how I wrote Full Blood, if i'd have thought i was going to publish some of the stuff in there, i'd never would have been able to create it.
best to you, hope the new moon was a time of meaning and love
John
"no one need ever see them..." this is the way i need to think about it b/c since i started writing it has been towards a public forum -- this blog & although i don't think i ever expected it to be read by anyone other than a few close friends & family, that still puts some limitations on my comfort zone. "the paper can take it" yes, that. when i began all this writing a year ago, i ways wrote my first drafts, sometimes more, on paper. slowly, the bias has shifted to the laptop. some of this is because it is more expedient, but some of it might be because writing on a computer feels less committal. does that make sense?
so happy to hear from you again. blessings to you & yours in that far away land.
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