Poems for Awesome

I dreamt

I was a fluffy white cloud

High above a field like an unreachable puff of fluff

Scudding across the piercingly blue sky

Distantly.

Poems for Awesome (I wrote these on Sunday)

El Espiritu

Me da consuelo y paz

Guia me a Dios

Dios le habla

por el profeta

y le bendice

si lo acepta

vivir con la guia

de Dios a diario

?que mas quiere?

es un billonario...

mas bien es sin precio

no puede valorear

el amor de Dios

que el profeta le mostrara

Books for Awesome

New old books: the Uncle series. I only have access to the first two books since the other ones are out of print. When I go to England, I'll bash around town in the old book stores looking for used copies. J.P. Martin was a minister and told Uncle stories to his children as he invented them. They were so wonderful that his kids asked him to write them down. I'm so glad he did! The first book is called Uncle. Uncle (the main character) is an elephant who is enormously rich and lives in a vast castle. Comprised of a collections of magical towers and inhabitants, the castle is a source of endless adventures. Fighting enemies occupies the rest of Uncles' time. Homeward (the castle) is close to Badfort where Uncle's enemies live. They are a terrible lot and deserve what they get. The sequel, Uncle Clean Up, continues adventures looking at towers and introduces more fantastic characters. I highly recommend these books for family read-a-loud enjoyment. The prose is so delightful, you end up reading bits aloud anyway so you might as well all experience the fun that is Uncle together.

Poems for Awesome: Jam

Blackberries wage war

Ferociously against us

In the end, we win!

Heart beats in my toes.

Side effect of my woes?

Heart beats in my ears.

Sustained living with my fears?

I want peace and I want quiet!

Slice of silence: wish I could buy it.

Now I'm where I'm supposed to be

I'd love a piece of tranquility.

Heal my body, calm my heart.

Now I'm ready for my new start.

I dreamt

I was a chicken

in a cage in the back yard

eating all the worms

hastily.

I dreamt

I was the river

by the hospital

healing the patients

refreshingly.

Books for Awesome

I had never heard of Hard Times by Charles Dickens until my roommate Valerie lent/gave me a copy. (I'm not sure if I need to return it. I need to ask her.) Beyond A Christmas Carol and Great Expectations, I had little exposure to other Dickens treasures. I had no idea how prolific he was! The truth is, I have only recently gained the confidence that I can read, understand, and appreciate Mr. Dickens' writing. Hard Times is amazing! Reading Dickens and Gaskell, I get the feeling that they caused quite an uproar in their time. In the edition that I read, a letter was included from Dickens to Gaskell that asked for her opinion on how to deal with striking. The story takes place in a mill town and weaves us in and out of the lives of the highest and lowest classes comparing and contrasting. Is it better to be poor and loving or rich and unfeeling? Is it better to be uneducated and moral or educated and immoral? What is lost for the sake of progress and facts? I always feel that I know Dickens opinion but that he writes as if he were a lawyer presenting the whole story to me, the juror. He tells both sides of the story. No one is innocent, no one is perfect, but that is why humanity must be merciful. My favorite characters are Sissy Jupe, Stephen Blackpool, and Rachel. Their humility and integrity and charity is so heartrending! Though they are the lowest of the low we would be lucky to be their friends and to be able to emulate their patience in suffering.

Hard Times is fantastic! Daniel Landeen once said that we should all read one book by Charles Dickens each year. I completely agree.