Wednesday, August 29, 2018

NEW POEM: Straight Up Without Explanation


Hubris
by Judith Cullen
© 2018

Don't try and explain,
to those trying on
life like a new suit.
Full of knowledge
bursting, seeing what  
is right so very clearly
from their new shoes.

Don't fuss or worry.
In six months all
will change to new
fashions, discoveries.
All will be the correct,
proper garb for the
very righteous.

Thursday, August 23, 2018

IN A LIGHTER MOOD: "Signs & Portents*

And now, for something slightly different ...

The Milky Way galaxy with the constellations Cassiopeia and Cepheus.
 Original from NASA. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.  Public Domain.

Signs and Portents
by Judith Cullen
© 2018

Cracks and lines in the pavement
have no actual orthopedic import.
Stomp as you will, sidewalks are not
an avenue for parental retribution.

Just because Mom hollered out the window
"Stop it!" in 1972, and the snow ceased,
Does not mean she controls the weather.
So you can put that telephone down.

Yes, it began to rain that summer day
while you worked with your friend.
He is not lucky, like a jade Buddha.
You certainly may not rub his tummy.

In a seemingly random universe,
teetering between control and chaos,
we grasp for meaning where we can,
hoping for a hand hold on surety.

Whether it actually exists or not
we find comfort in the occasional,
embracing cosmic import in the
fortuitous fidelity of coincidence.

##

Saturday, August 18, 2018

NEW POEM: It Took a While, But I am Learning

There's a beauty in being at ease with someone - of NOT feeling the necessity to be connected every moment.  Seriously, I was not a big dater in my youth - being notable for a different type of popularity: being well-known and respected. (*makes "gacking" teenager sounds*)  At a time when my contemporaries were bumbling through the early trials and errors of couple-ness, I was planning the dances and special events they would attend.  I'm still kind of that way.

So I learned how to "be" with someone late. Really late. I won't call it "love" because I am too old for that presumption.  But it does still have some of the trappings - getting excited when you see them after several days, knowing all the correct buttons to push for fun, comfort, or calm.  Knowing someone well enough to know when to just "let be" without carrying that residue with you afterwards.

I am grateful for the lesson that relationships, good ones, are not about two halves making a whole - they are about two complete persons keeping each other in balance.  And for however long they are destined to last, they are to be treasured.



Keeping Company
by Judith Cullen
© 2018

Wisps of ivory lace, black trunks.
It all seemed so frantic before you,
the crazed heady rushing,
near desperate uncertainty.
The compelling, the potent,
overwhelming exhilaration.

Gentle caress, your finger on my arm.
The stark difference still jolts,
of two who drifted together,
slow moving magnetic forces,
two planets easing into
soothing conjunctive orbit.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

ESSAY: "Coloring Outside the Lines"



Coloring Outside the Lines
by Judith Cullen
© 2018

It is the same meeting someone face to face as it when you get to know them virtually - something that happens increasingly in our world.  It seems counter intuitive, but it is true.  The process of getting to know someone is really the same, its just that the pitfalls are more acutely highlighted when you get to know someone remotely, rather than in person. 

You are in contact with someone for the first time, and something (or some things) about them appeals to you - strikes a chord. You think, "I'd like to get to know this person better." In certain circumstances, you might even think "they have something that I want. I'll get to know them so I can learn." They were a blank page to you before, an unknown.  Then the moment of introduction happens, the void sheet begins to transform, taking on an outline that intrigues and interests.  It's like a fresh coloring page.  You reach for your box of colors, and you begin.

Friday, August 3, 2018

A POEM EXPERIMENT - "Lavender in the Moonlight"


I love the scent of lavender.  I had a "dream pillow" for years filled with it, and it was one of two scents of Crabtree & Evelyn® products that I used regularly back when I worked in a hot and humid part of the country.

The other day I put out some virtual lavender  plants in a couple of locations in Second Life ®, and I was amazed how clearly the memory of the scent came back to me, and how soothing it was.  I haven't been able to smell actual lavender for over a decade, due to industrial asthma.  But I sure remember how it smelled, and how crisply clean I felt after a shower or bath.

I have also been doing a lot of video and audio work lately, and I found myself a little curious what it would be like to deconstruct them in a presentation.  It's an experiment.

***
Lavender in the Moonlight
by Judith Cullen
© 2018

Unquiet sleep.
Subsiding conscious thoughts
without the succor of actual repose,
and she rises.