Not This, Not That

Not This, Not That

nor anything,

not the eastern wind whose other name is rain,

nor the burning heats of the dunes

nor the crown of summer,

nor the ticks, that new, ferocious populace,

not the President who loves blood,

not the governmental agencies that love money,

will alter

my love for you, my friends and my beloved,

or for you, oh ghosts of Emerson and Whitman,

or for you, oh blue sky of a summer morning,

that makes me roll in a barrel of gratitude down hills,

or for you, oldest friends: hope;

or for you, newest friends: faith;

or for you, silliest and dearest of surprises, my own life.

Mary Oliver, Red Bird

God said yes

I asked God if it was okay to be melodramatic

and she said yes

I asked her if it was okay to be short

and she said it sure is

I asked her if I could wear nail polish

or not wear nail polish

and she said honey

she calls me that sometimes

she said you can do just exactly

what you want to

Thanks God I said

And is it even okay if I don't paragraph

my letters

Sweetcakes God said

who knows where she picked that up

what I'm telling you is

Yes Yes Yes

-- Kaylin Haught, "God Says Yes to Me" from

The Palm of Your Hand, copyright 1995,

Tilbury House Publishers.

Lux Aterna

The August 6th meditation began with one half hour of silence followed by 26 minutes of music from the album Lux Aeterna.