Cumulus

 

Cumulus

 

Or stratocumulus I can’t …

The way they seem just

To hang there unmoving

 

White and gray in a bright blue sky

 

Then the distant mountains bluish

The fields a shift of green then

Autumnal yellows toned oranges

Move your gaze back up

Conflicts

 

Conflicts

The current headlining focus on Ukraine and Russia is perhaps the biggest link in what amounts to a chain of conflicts—turmoils in various situations in the Middle East, in Africa, and elsewhere. Some of these situations involve full scale wars, others are perhaps less dire but may still involve disastrous living conditions for the people caught up in them.

The situations that lead to violent conflicts vary. Causes include territory, natural resources, water. Very often colonialist or neo-colonialist interests are at the heart of the problem.

Both globally and locally the concept of freedom or liberty is involved in such struggles, and this relates to power. For freedom is not only an abstraction but “effective power to do specific things,” in the words of John Dewey.*

In “The problem of freedom” the philosopher encourages us to look at the matter in the context of culture, “a state of interaction of many factors.”

It was important to Dewey not to isolate any one notion in the conversation, and I bring this up here because in spite of the vast number of texts being published on the current crisis I believe his words still resonate: “The fundamental postulate of the discussion is that isolation of any one factor, no matter how strong its workings at a given time, is fatal to understanding and to intelligent action.” 

I offer this short comment in the belief that violent conflict is not the answer to the problem.

* Cited in Robert B. Westbrook, John Dewey and American Democracy, p. 435 (paperback).

Pencil drawing (copy)

 In fact a copy of a copy of a copy, playing with the light. The first time I posted it, several years ago, it was much darker. fwiw ; - )

post-it

Old bridge, Besalú, Catalonia

This bridge in Besalú dates from the twelfth century.

piece (surfing)

piece (surfing)

0

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i spun

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dragging the kelp the salt

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                                   across the sun              space trash the

day                  challenge the fish in the water               change

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                                                                       (w)here my spindle

Mobile (2)

Mobile

o

|

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no-word

                           

                                                                                     sun glitter

                                                                 

flat blue sea

                                                                                             

orange light

                   white                    sea    

mobile

o

|

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hill

                           

blood

                                                                                     sweet

                                                                           late

                                                                                              dealt

                            orange

                   iron            

Cézanne and Mont Blanc

Cézanne and Mont Blanc

Mont Blanc is a pyramid, cube, sphere....

each some form of paper, some kite—

a graphite fragment on pastel paper at noon,

hand moving before the word forms—

Paint has moved them out of fissured

rock—color bursts in the air,

freeing the statue, freeing the frame.

(revised from lines done in 2006)

In block

In block

The orange block’s between

some stacked white blocks,

under the burgundy block on

some white blocks.

The burgundy block’s on

some white blocks,

above the orange block

between some stacked white blocks.

Tunnelfish turndoor

Whew lookin tunnelfish turndoor

trace myeye long snapshot

does the while angle

grow allay and

then whoa

hearin

tastes

tou

ch

experim e

experim       e

the     re

dr      ive

all      ure

star    e

str      ing

bol     d

the     ater

cpstn

cpstn

ahhwrrrrrckckckggggvuwwwnne

dormevnoo ocmeoogk corjoela gididkal fiela

dox enneo theicmmeo annidem voe

veeo viemg hheoamn diem lws telll

thrparntr bu thhyyknw

bdiemmk aqpek``m cigmem bmoeo

coeoo vmme oo ahiiel biii. biie mm

ahhwrrrrrckckckaiuhhhgrrnkshppt

rinse

rinse

rinse curve vase chip water

draw it along dust fence

and crack wa-da-da wa-da-da

slat echo till sundown heavy globe

bing bing streetlight spoke tensing

orange green leaves trail slush red

white incandescent flash missing spring

ball limbs and hare whisk you plunging wave

start last year? a line upstream translational

cup over yeah he’s the real golden guy

batter! and just hangs like

rose

rose

contour drawing before winter’s early

dusk paper too thin wrong ink-hogging

nib earthward curved cradling petals

black-red shadows of rose green leaf

in less than an hour it will be what

we call sunset possibly golden where

then the white-rendered shine of

the cut glass triangles in the vase

curve and point of the darkening leaves