A Poem for Today, More China, Joshua Tree, Baby Update

On Wednesday night at writing group, Holly had us do the annual poem ritual for our last meeting of 2008. She chooses 20 poems, prints them out, and we each choose the one that's calling to us. (We can't see them ahead of time. She has them rolled up like important documents, tied in ribbon.) The poem I picked is below.


From The Little Mariner

x

Whatever I was able to acquire in my life by way of acts visible to all,
that is, to win my own transparency, I owe to a kind of special courage
Poetry gave me: to be the wind for the kite and the kite for the wind, even
when the sky is missing.

I'm not playing with words. I mean the movement you discover being
written in an "instant," when you can open it and make it last. When,
in fact, Sorrow becomes Grace and Grace Angel; Joy Alone and Sister
Joy

with white, long pleats over the void,

a void full of bird dew, basil breeze and a hiss of resonant Paradise.

Odysseas Elytis
(trans. Olga Broumas,
from Eros, Eros:Selected and Last Poems,
Copper Canyon Press, 1998)

At first, I liked it, but I didn't really understand why I got it. Then, when it came time for everyone to read their poem aloud, I realized it was perfect and I got emotional reading it. There's so much hope and a sense of overcoming badness to get to a peaceful, joyful place. I especially like: "to be the wind for the kite and the kite for the wind..." That says a lot to me. And the last line is so fresh and soaring and wonderful. Plus, it's called "The Little Mariner," which people pointed out is appropriate for the baby. (Below is a picture David took when we were at Joshua tree a couple of weeks ago. It seems to fit the last line, too.)

In crafty-related news, this is a woman who worked at Sina, an internet company in Beijing. I really liked her scarf and sweater (plus, it's USC colors and she did the Fight On! symbol), so I asked if I could take her picture. She very nicely obliged.

Another place we went to just out of Beijing was the Green Cow Organic Farm, owned by Mrs. Shanen (shown below). It was a wonderful experience and a nice contrast to all the huge factories that dominate China. She wants to keep her organic farm/bagel business/restaurant small and fresh and sustainable. (The food was delicious, by the way.)


Back in California, David an I went to Joshua Tree the weekend after I got back. It was very cold and windy, but we still managed to have a picnic and go on a hike. Here we are at the picnic spot.


In China, I started the Baby Surprise Jacket. This is my progress as of Friday at lunchtime. I should be finished very soon and will post a picture of the finished product. I hope the baby will enjoy wearing it.


Finally, I know some of you have been waiting for this. Here's the baby ultrasound from Wednesday. Everything's going really well. The baby's about a pound now (!) and moving around a lot. Even David's been able to feel it. On the ultrasound, we were able to see it kick and move around. Plus, we got to see it swallow, which looked something like this.

Okay. This is a long post, so I'll close for now. Look for more pictures soon of the baby cardigan and my finished Februrary Lady Sweater. Woo hoo!