We welcomed the New Year on the shores of the Bosphorus. The fireworks' explosion of color and sound startled the flocks of seagulls that flew overhead. The late night fog swept in from the water into the land, enveloping the people's happiness, and ours, as if in a veil of mystic rapture. That was one … Continue reading Rumi: A Stringed Instrument
I find myself in the unexpected company of German poets. The other evening, as I walked about in Windsor Terrace, I saw that a neighbor had left several books on the stoop of her brownstone house. I browsed through them and selected two to bring home with me: Friedrich Hölderlin's Hymns and Fragments and Paul … Continue reading In the Company of German Poets
I have been biking to the piers at Sunset Park to read Siddhartha while facing the upper bay of the Hudson River's estuary. I knew that Siddhartha's encounter with the river would be the tale's most moving chapter for me. I wanted to prepare for it by contemplating, as I read, the ebb and flow … Continue reading Siddhartha by the River
Mi alma es un cardenal-- llama bermeja flameando en el viento; canto dulce en crescendo amoroso; espíritu peregrino explorando territorios; sangre alada; corazón que pulsa en el bosque. Cardenal en Brooklyn, inicios de la primavera (Foto: Dimitriy Fomenko). [Portada: Cardenal en Saint Marks, Brooklyn (Foto: Canopic).]
The poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke has been enlightening my mornings, as spring turns into summer. I wake, brew a cup of black coffee, sit by my front window under the shade of the sycamore tree, and let the poet's verses awaken me to the spiritual and sentimental possibilities of the day. On a bright, … Continue reading Rilke: Gazing at Gardens
Dry oak leaves slide over the milky-white and grey-green ice and turn and dance with the cold wind like winter butterflies. Winter Scene: Ice over Prospect Lake, Brooklyn
Watching summer blooms at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, I am moved by their loving magnanimity. They give their vitality generously to hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, bumble bees, fireflies, and any other visitors who feed from their sweet heart. Canada Goldenrod (Solidago canadensis) Loving Spirits, the summer flowers give their delicious energy without asking their guests for … Continue reading Rumi: Giving Yourself
