CENTER
At the first chink of sunrise,
the windows on one side of the house
are frosted with stark orange light,
and in every pale blue window
on the other side
a full moon hangs, a round, white blaze.
I look out one side, then the other,
moving from room to room
as if between countries or parts of my life.
Then I stop and stand in the middle,
extend both arms
like Leonardo’s man, naked in a perfect circle.
And when I begin to turn slowly
I can feel the whole house turning with me,
rotating free of the earth.
The sun and moon in all the windows
move, too, with the tips of my fingers,
the solar system turning by degrees
with me, morning’s egomaniac,
turning on the hallway carpet in my slippers,
taking the cold orange, blue, and white
for a quiet, unhurried spin,
all wheel and compass, axis and reel,
as wide awake as I will ever be.
by Billy Collins from Sailing Alone Around the Room – New and Selected Poems
This is what I have today. A poem. A new page from my visual journal. And a beautiful sign I spotted from the car yesterday. It’s a cool 58 degrees in Los Angeles this gray evening. Patchy low clouds and fog predicted for nearly every morning this week. This morning it was misting when I left the house. I enjoy these little breaks from the constant sunshine. It’s perfect reading weather. Or looking at visual journal pages on Flicker.
I DIG the mailart Nik sent today. Check it out! Raise your hand if you think it’s as cool as I do. My mailbox has really been rockin’ and rollin’ lately with all the cool things my new blog friends have been sending my way. Have I mentioned before that I nearly break my neck trying to get up my stairs when I get home from school just so I can log in and read the comments I may or may not have here on this blog? The cat posse knows to clear the path from front door to computer and keep all tails, paws, cat toys, and birds, lizards, or rats (that may be here on playdates) OUT OF THE WAY when mama bursts in the house around 4 p.m. each day. Who knew a blog could be so ridiculously fun?
ok, that does it, I am putting Billy Collins in my shopping cart right this second. Warning: I overheard Wyatt talking to Lewis today on the phone… something about laying a banana peel by the front door to stop you in your tracks as you come through the door? I could be wrong, they hung up quickly when they heard me walk in.
I don’t know if I’ve commented before, but I’ve been enjoying your blog for a while now. I love seeing your journal pages. And I vicariously enjoyed your trip to Mexico. As a Spanish teacher, I would love to go. Next best thing was your updates. I also really like that you find such cool web pages and flickrs for us to look at like the one today. Do you have a flickr?
Gotta love those artistically arranged tiny rocks concealing the addresses. But, more importantly, gotta love having a collection of tiny rocks available for just such a need.
Anne
Nice glitter on the paper.
shine on girl
I’m so impressed that you consistently make such great blog entries! I read your blog everyday over breakfast to admire your art and hear about your world, however it means putting off my own creative efforts! Thanks for a great read, keep up the good work.
Who knew a blog could be so ridiculously addicting!?
As you fly up the stairs to read comments, I fly down the hallway to see if by chance you have posted again.
Something about this place you have created here…I open the door to your blog address and I get this overwhelming sense of home. Not my home, but the home of my grandparents….how weird is that? Which explains why I spend so much time here…just sitting, looking around, feeling at ease…some kind of memory…
Don’t wanna get all Twilight Zone on you…LOL!