Mandala #21 and #22

Katie was the only admirer of this series of very simplified mandalas, which ends with this two lotus-shaped figures.

I found this poem whole, perfect for this moment. I've told several times to the author, Russ Loar, that he's the only alive poet that I've found worth reading. Won't keep to myself something that I think is miraculous.

There is a home in my heart
For each person I love,
Whether they love me,
Or not.

They’re all I’ve got.

Russ Loar, "A home in my heart".

Mandala #20 (A great day for Freedom)

To the sweet memory I have of the day when the wall in Berlin came down. Twenty years from today. What a day.
Play the song and rejoice in the memory, before thinking we have some other ones to take care of, as in Israel and the mexican border.

On the day the wall came down
They threw the locks onto the ground
And with glasses high we raised a cry for freedom had arrived
On the day the wall came down
The Ship of Fools had finally ran aground
Promises lit up the night like paper doves in flight

I dreamed you had left my side
No warmth, not even pride remained
And even though you needed me
It was clear that I could not do a thing for you

Now life devalues day by day
As friends and neighbors turn away
And there's a change that, even with regret, cannot be undone
Now frontiers shift like desert sands
While nations wash their bloodied hands
Of loyalty, of history, in shades of grey

I woke to the sound of drums
The music played, the morning sun streamed in
I turned and I looked at you
And all but the bitter residues slipped away... slipped away

Pink Floyd, "A great day for Freedom".

Mandala #19

To the memory of the moment when I had a poem dedicated to me, by Russ Loar. Below.




for Cristian

1. Love Is Easy

Unlike philosophy,
Love is easy,
Actual.
You wake up each morning
And joy fills your heart
Because someone you love will say,
“I love you,”
Before the day is through,
And you will hold each other close
In a moment of eternity.


2. Love Is Hard

Unlike philosophy,
Love is hard,
Actual.
You wake up each morning
And pain fills your heart
Because someone you love has said,
“I don’t love you,”
And all day long
You will feel wounded and empty,
Hoping it won’t last forever.


3. Love Is Mysterious

Unlike philosophy,
Love is mysterious,
Ethereal.
You wake up each morning
And both joy and pain fill your heart
Because you ache to say,
“I love you,”
If only you could find someone
Before the end of another lonely day
And see the dream awaken.

Russ Loar, "Love is not philosophy".

Mandala #18

On the memory of a sweet afternoon, when I watched the sea at Coney Island, and my gratefulness to Catalina.
The fitting song is by Death Cab for Cutie.

Sitting on a carousel ride without any music or light
Everything was closed at Coney Island
And I could not help from smiling

I can hear the Atlantic echo back
Roller coaster screams from summers past
And everything was closed at Coney Island
And I could not help from smiling

Brooklyn will fill in the beach eventually
And everyone will go except me

Death Cab for Cutie, "Coney Island". Play the song with this widget:

Mandalas #15, #16 & #17

Spring:
A hill without a name
Veiled in morning mist.



The beginning of autumn:
Sea and emerald paddy
Both the same green.



The winds of autumn
Blow: yet still green
The chestnut husks.



A flash of lightning:
Into the gloom
Goes the heron's cry.

Matsuo Bashō.

Mandalas #11, #12, #13 & #14

Four images and a song to play by Dylan Mondegreen.

i could talk to you
if i had something to say
something funny and profound
that would seem to make sense
i have no such stories

so i go to my home
and i stay at home
take a drink for my own pleasure
take a bath to feel clean
and it's good to be alone

when i'm tired of being polite
my room is the site
of a dreamer's life

when the night comes
and all i have is myself
then i look at the stars
till my eyes get sore
when your friends are gone
what is life all about?
i spend too much time alone
just listening to my favourite songs

so i dream about love
that's what's keeping me awake
sure you'd love to come visit
sure you'd love to stay
but not tonight

Dylan Mondegreen, "my favourite songs". Play the song with this widget:

Mandalas #9 & 10

Two mandalas under the dark light of mediocre ground; that's the reason for the Belle And Sebastian song to play down there.

Sunbeam shone, mousy girl on the end pew
You'd stay home, oh, if only they'd let you
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie

Municipal pool, you're a junior life saver
But your friends are all serious ravers
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
Reading Judy Blume
But you came too soon

You're too tall, much too tall for a boyfriend
They run and hide, from your buckteeth and split ends
Don't be scared, like the books you've read
You're the heroine
You'll be doing fine

Wouldn't you like to get away?
Bestowing the memory of good and evil
On the ones you left behind
The heartless swine

And you love like nobody around you
How you love, and a halo surrounds you
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
In the Autumn cool
Say cheerio to school

Listen dear, I've been watching you lately
If I said all these things you would hate me
Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie
At the church bazaar
I nearly went too far

Wouldn't you like to get away?
Give yourself up to the allure of
Catcher in the Rye
The future's swathed in Stars and Stripes

Wouldn't you like to get away?
Kerouac's beckoning with open arms
And open roads of eucalyptus
Westward bound

Belle And Sebastian, "Le Pastie de la Bourgeoisie". Play the song with this widget:

Specie of the dark #8

The endurance of darkness is preparation for great light.

St. John of the Cross, "Dark Night of the Soul".



I'm adding a song from the Frogboard top 50: Soko, "Shitty day", play it with the widget here below:

I hate myself today.
I don't know what's happening to me.
I hate my face today.
I think I look so shitty.

I have some spot everywhere.
And I'm not even shaved.
My hair all greasy.
I look disgusting.

My eyes are glued.
My lips are chapped.
My legs are prickling.
And plus I'm stinky today.

How can I date someone with a face like that?
I know you're gonna dump me again,
And I am gonna cry.

Cause you want a perfect girl,
And I'm not what you expect.
You want a perfect girl,
And I look shitty today.

Maybe I should put some makeup,
And find some crazy outfits.
But I am very tired today
And I don't care if I'm not pretty.

Should be like these girls,
Skinny and great all the time.
I'm still wearing my slippers
And eat all the candies at home.

I should sleep more,
And stop going out everyday.
I should focus more,
And stop complaining today.

Tell me, How can I date someone with a face like that?
I know you're gonna dump me again,
And I am gonna cry.

Cause you want a perfect girl,
And I'm not so perfect.
You want a perfect girl,
And I look shitty today.

Tell me, how can I date someone with a face like that?
I know you're gonna dump me,
And I'm gonna cry.

Mandalas #7 & 8

Drinking my tea
Without sugar-
No difference.

Allen Ginsberg.

Mandala #6

Coolness—
the sound of the bell
as it leaves the bell.

Yosa Buson.

Mandala #5

The taste
of rain
—Why kneel?

Jack Kerouac, "Book of Haiku".

Mandala #4

Ah! a thousand flames, a fire,
The light, a shadow!
The sun is following me.

Paul Éluard, from "five haiku".

Mandala #3

Leaving its nest,
The sparrow sinks a second,
Then opens its wings.

Richard Wright, Haiku 93.

Mandala #2

“When, when?” I sighed.
The one I longed for
Has finally come;
With her now,
I have all that I need.

Taigu Ryokan, "Teishin".

Mandala #1

"Have you ever seen God?"
-a mandala. A symmetrical angel.

Felt? yes. Fucking. The Sun.
Heard? Music. Voices
Touched? an animal. your hand.
Tasted? Rare meat, corn, water
& wine.

Jim Morrison, from "Wilderness, Poems 1966-1971".