A new graffiti poster spotted down the street! When I saw it I thought of how perfectly it went with yesterday’s wildfire mosaic, but today’s a new day. I present to you one of the most popular videos on U-tube. A message of pure joy…from Matt, who writes:
14 months in the making, 42 countries, and a cast of thousands. Thanks to everyone who danced with me.
And another poem from William Stafford, great Kansas poet, and all around good fellow.
Quo Vadis
Sometimes I choose a cloud and let it
cross the sky floating me away.
Or a bird unravels its song and carries me
as it flies deeper and deeper into the woods.
Is there a way to be gone and still
belong? Travel that takes you home?
Is that life? to stand by a river and go.
Which brings me to my next rambling summer thought on this bright hot Los Angeles day. TREES. Eucalyptus. This particular species which most resemble the limbs of humans. These I found soaring up across the street from the graffiti poster. Sometimes a drifting mind sees beautiful things when you aren’t looking for them.
that one in the middle is my sister
to be GONE and still BElong…
longing for that
yes Mary Ann
yes…
xox – eb.
MMMMMMmmmmm I can smell them, I adore those fleshy limbs.
Three things I love about you:
1. You teach second grade. I teach seventh. Think second graders with hormones added.
2. I LOVE your art and the fact that you make the time to creata even during the school year (although we create everyday in our classrooms – just not beautiful journals!).
3. You love poetry, and you share your favorites with your readers. William Stafford is also a favorite of mine. I have several of his books. Do you read Billy Collins? You would like ” Another Reason Why I Don’t Keep Gun in the House;”
Thanks for all of you inspirations!!
Can anyone watch Matt without having their heart swell with joy and pride at the human race? Thank you, I hadn’t seen this one.
Thank you, Mary Ann, for moving me to tears. The fire mosaic, the eucalyptus trees and Matt’s video did me in for entirely different reasons. Sorrow, wonder and joy. Can’t get more real than that. Thank you!
Some of my favorite things in California: everything about eucalyptus – seed pods, bark shreds on the ground, fragrance of the leaves, the eucalyptus tunnels along some highways, the way they soar; the smell of morning in CA, the moments of CA semi-fog in the mornings, not to mention California growers’ markets.
My son, who is on a two year solo trek around the world http://realtravel.com/member-m4854972-gwiz.html
has emailed Matt to find out where they may intersect so he can perhaps join him in dancing badly. Every time I see that video I am moved to tears by the beauty of the people in the world. It is not as fearsome as some would have us believe – there is more good than bad. There are some truly wondrous things available on this giant Web.
everywhere you look there is something to See..
the Talmud
missy from the bayou
thanks for sharing ‘seeing’
Glad to see you like our trees, this species is one of the best, especially in bush fire prone areas as it doesn’t have any loose bark as such. I so know that feeling, we go through it every summer too. I don’t know if it’s the same where you are, but often ours are deliberately lit.
What a memory the Eucalyptus trees brought to the surface. I am a child again…Grandma and Grandpa’s home on E. 64 St in Los Angeles…the scent reaches me as soon as I approach the screened in front porch…Grandpa has a HUGE pot of Eucalyptus leaves boiling on the stove…and he drinks the ‘tea’…and I sit at the huge wooden table watching and inhaling the scent that will forever more remind me of Grandma and Grandpa’s kitchen…
Love the graffiti poster, video and poem. I however did not realize that Eucalyptus grew on a tree and the limbs looked human. Wow, how awesome is that? I wouldn’t have known what kind of tree it was if I’d seen it. LOL Thanks for teaching me something new today.
Ahh, eucalyptus trees. I brought a branch home from California (don’t tell) and it hangs in my studio. Every now and again, I walk by and pinch a small bit off to sniff. The scent is heavenly! Alas, they do not grow here in the desert.
Yikes! I have so much work to do on my travel journal from Italy…..especially after seeing your sisters.
I hope the fires haven’t reached your beautiful new walkway. I will be blowing cool breezes and rain your way.
The kids look so beautiful.
….and the trees!!! oh my.