October 9, 2004

• SATURDAY POEM I ADMIRE

  Song

  The weight of the world
  is love.
  Under the burden
  of solitude,
  under the burden
  of dissatisfaction
  the weight,
  the weight we carry
  is love.
  Who can deny?
  In dreams
  it touches
  the body,
  in thought
  constructs
  a miracle,
  in imagination
  anguishes
  till born
  in human–
  looks out of the heart
  burning with purity–
  for the burden of life
  is love,
  but we carry the weight
  wearily,
  and so must rest
  in the arms of love
  at last,
  must rest in the arms
  of love.
  No rest
  without love,
  no sleep
  without dreams
  of love–
  be mad or chill
  obsessed with angels
  or machines,
  the final wish
  is love
  –cannot be bitter,
  cannot deny,
  cannot withhold
  if denied:
  the weight is too heavy
  –must give
  for no return
  as thought
  is given
  in solitude
  in all the excellence
  of its excess.
  The warm bodies
  shine together
  in the darkness,
  the hand moves
  to the center
  of the flesh,
  the skin trembles
  in happiness
  and the soul comes
  joyful to the eye–
  yes, yes,
  that’s what
  I wanted,
  I always wanted,
  I always wanted,
  to return
  to the body
  where I was born.
  Allen Ginsberg, 1954
  Ginsberg came out of New Jersey, graduated from Columbia, and headed to the West Coast. He wrote this poem at 28, the year he met Peter Orlovsky, who became his companion till his death at 71 in 1997. He was arguably the most famous poet of the Beat Generation and wrote epic poems like Howl with themes of war, drugs, and sexuality. Because I hung out daily in the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco during 1965, I had the opportunity to browse next to him in the stacks one day. That was a good day.
  

  ---

  Deep Thought: When I was about in the third grade I used to play with matches all the time. Then one day, something made me stop. I accidentally scraped one across a rough surface and it caught on fire!
  Today I am grateful for: Knowing how much children need love
  Guess the Movie: “I don’t know if we each have a destiny, or if we’re all just floatin’ around accidental-like on a breeze. But I, I think maybe it’s both, maybe both happening at the same time. ” Answer: Forrest Gump, 1994. Winner: thenarrator
  Polls Today: Kerry 280/Bush 248. EVP: “The first poll on the second debate shows the results much closer than debate #1. According to a Gallup poll of 515 registered voters, Kerry won by 47% to 45%. When asked if they felt more favorable about the candidates after the debate, 38% were more favorable to Kerry and 20% were less favorable. For Bush the figures were 31% and 20%. For a challenger, these are good numbers. Historically, when an incumbent is running for reelection, the undecideds typically don’t like the incumbent but are not sure if the new guy on the block is up to the job. His task is to convince them he can do it. In the past, the undecideds have ultimately broken 2 to 1 for the challenger.”
  End of Day: 9:14 pm
  + = None of my 5 cats have been hit by a car in the 10 years I’ve lived here and they’re all indoor/outdoor cats.
  - = My house interior needs to be painted bad – I always become aware of it when the weather changes to grey at this time of year.
  

  • 10:38 am
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