War Some of the Time

                                             by Charles Bukowski

when you write a poem it
needn't be intense
it
can be nice and
easy
and you shouldn't necessarily
be
concerned only with things like anger or
love or need;
at any moment the
greatest accomplishment might be to simply
get
up and tap the handle
on that leaking toilet;
I've
done that twice now while typing
this
and now the toilet is
quiet.
to
solve simple problems: that's
the most
satisfying thing, it
gives you a chance and it
gives everything else a chance
too.

we were made to accomplish the easy
things
and made to live through the things
hard.

The Poet Visits the Museum of Fine Arts

For a long time
     I was not even
        in this world, yet
           every summer

every rose
     opened in perfect sweetness
        and lived
           in gracious repose,

in its own exotic fragrance,
     in its huge willingness to give
        something, from its small self,
           to the entirety of the world.

I think of them, thousands upon thousands,
     in many lands,
        whenever summer came to them,
           rising

out of the patience of patience,
     to leaf and bud and look up
        into the blue sky
           or, with thanks,

into the rain
     that would feed
        their thirsty roots
           latched into the earth—

sandy or hard, Vermont or Arabia,
     what did it matter,
        the answer was simply to rise
           in joyfulness, all their days.

Have I found any better teaching?
     Not ever, not yet.
        Last week I saw my first Botticelli
           and almost fainted,

and if I could I would paint like that
     but am shelved somewhere below, with a few songs
        about roses: teachers, also, of the ways
           toward thanks, and praise.

 ~Mary Oliver

We went to the Uffizi museum today and I saw Botticelli paintings in person. It was lovely. I've been saving this poem for that.

Sono in Italia (I am in Italy)

I'm too lazy/busy to blog regularly about what I'm doing, but I'll occasionally post stuff under the tag "adventures in Italy."

Bookend Songs

Rihanna's "Where Have You Been" (2012) and "We Found Love" (2011)

• I've been everywhere, man, looking for you, babe / Searching for you, babe
  

• We found love in a hopeless place
  

 

Britney Spears' "Baby One More Time" (1998) and "Stronger" (2000)

To Waiting

You spend so much of your time
expecting to become
someone else
always someone
who will be different
someone to whom a moment
whatever moment it may be
at last has come
and who has been
met and transformed
into no longer being you
and so has forgotten you

meanwhile in your life
you hardly notice
the world around you
lights changing
sirens dying along the buildings
your eyes intent
on a sight you do not see yet
not yet there
as long as you
are only yourself

with whom as you
recall you were
never happy
to be left alone for long

                      —W.S. Merlin

Black Mask

I rediscovered a favorite blog, Inside a Black Apple. I love her art and the general atmosphere of her online presence: comforting, old-fashioned, fairytale-like and just a little bit mysterious. Anyway, I was looking at the prints on her Etsy shop (there are so many that I want) when I came across this one:

It seems I had that print subconsciously in mind when I took the following picture a few months ago.

I actually made the mask in grade school, years before I was a serious peruser of the Internet. I think it was meant to be a black cat mask (like the print above), but it makes me think of the Bat superheroes. Batgirl was a librarian, so I took and like this picture. It was my profile picture for a while.

Rainbow Meal

Red tomato
Orange sweet potato fries
Yellow mac & cheese
Green peas
Purple shirt
and I am blue.

The Batman of Songs

I'm a sucker for freebies, and free song downloads from iTunes are no exception. I usually download the ones I like every week (I think the free songs change every Monday). Last week I downloaded a single called "Come Back Down" by Greg Laswell featuring Sara Bareilles. It's a great pop song, catchy and rather anthemic, but it's kind of jarring when you listen to the words. The official music video handily features the lyrics, so go ahead and watch it:


The song's message can basically be summed up as, "Sack UP, ho! Get your act together! Look at your life; look at your choices." It's interesting that this song is so blunt; most pop songs feature watered down optimism and meaningless positive platitudes. I rather value this song's honesty.
So why do I call this the Batman of songs? It's awesome and popular with audiences, but it's kind of a downer when you think about it. Also, this is not the song people want, but the song they deserve.