The Wisdom of Poets . . .

from: It's Not the Same

- by Fukunaka Tomoko

And

the enemy in the world today

is not the United States,

is not the Soviet Union

but, bridged between you and me

unidentifiable

words of silence.

from: Women Poets of Japan. Copyright 1977.

. . . A Matter of Love

 The Trevor Project:

Website,

Facebook,

Here's what Bishop Desmond Tutu said about sexual orientation:

"This is a matter of ordinary justice. 

We struggled against apartheid in South Africa, supported by people the world over, because black people were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about - our very skin. 

It is the same with sexual orientation. It is a given. I could not have fought against the discrimination of apartheid and not also fight against the discrimination that homosexuals endure, even in our churches and faith groups.

I am proud that in South Africa, when we won the chance to build our own new constitution, the human rights of all have been explicitly enshrined in our laws. 

My hope is that one day this will be the case all over the world, and that all will have equal rights. For me this struggle is a seamless robe. 

Opposing apartheid was a matter of justice. Opposing discrimination against women is a matter of justice. Opposing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is a matter of justice.

It is also a matter of love. 

Every human being is precious. We are all - all of us - part of God's family. We all must be allowed to love each other with honour. Yet all over the world, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people are persecuted. 

We treat them as pariahs and push them outside our communities. We make them doubt that they too are children of God. This must be nearly the ultimate blasphemy."

- quoted by David Popcock,

Christians, homophobia and trying hard to follow Jesus.

The Mahogany Tree

    by William Makepeace Thackeray

 

 Christmas is here;  
Winds whistle shrill,  
Icy and chill,  
Little care we;  
Little we fear 
Weather without,  
Shelter’d about  
The Mahogany Tree.  
  
Once on the boughs  
Birds of rare plume
Sang, in its bloom;  
Night birds are we;  
Here we carouse,  
Singing, like them,  
Perch’d round the stem    
Of the jolly old tree.  . . .

Find the rest of the poem here.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time;
serenity, that nothing is.

  – Thomas Szasz

An Event Which Makes No News

- Shinkawa Kazue

Did you see in the shadowy woods
a branch grew, leaves came out
of a girl's pliant extended arms
and quickly became a tree?
Did you see?
A youth stood by the tree,
took off his deep blue coat,
and in a moment became a dove?

(The telephone keeps ringing, ringing.
   Nobody answers, nobody is there, today is
   Sunday)

When the lights go on on the suburban trains,
People come back to their office buildings
wearing the face of human beings.

Haven't you heard the story?
In the nearby meadow,
one or two unknown horses have lingered on
these days after a holiday.

(The telephone keeps ringing, ringing.
   Nobody answers.
   Nobody is there. Eventually, it's Monday)


from: Women Poets of Japan. Copyright 1977.
Photo Source.

Yes, You Did

A bather whose clothing was strewed,

By winds that left her quite nude,

Saw a man come along,

And unless we are wrong,

You expected this line to be lewd.

Source.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Zugzwang is a term used in chess to refer to a position where every move you have is a bad one.

Once you’re in zugzwang, things like having more pieces than your opponent doesn’t matter anymore. If you can’t use them to attack you may as well not have them at all. Often players who find themselves in zugzwang simply resign.

A growing number of people in America know what it feels like to be in zugzwang. For some of them their whole life has been one long zugzwang, they can’t remember ever having any good options.

Without catching a lucky break, a lifetime of hard work for most people results in just that—a lifetime of hard work.

For others they maybe once thought they had it all—a good job with a pension, a nice house with a payment they could afford, set for life. Then in an instant it all disappeared. House is underwater, ARM is popping on the loan, pension fund bought a bunch of mortgage-backed securities.

All that’s left is utter, hopeless zugzwang.

Sadly this, if nothing else, is what unites us. This dreadful unease. This feeling that every option we have is a bad one. And this resentment we feel from being told that it has to be this way, that there are no other options, because these are the rules of the game.

But like Poe said, “there’s games and then there’s life. They ain’t the same thing.” It doesn’t have to be this way.

In chess, you don’t have to resign in zugzwang. You can always sacrifice. . . .

- David Hill.