Even if I don’t see it again — nor ever feel it

I know it is — and that if once it hailed me

it ever does —

And so it is myself I want to turn in that direction

not as towards a place, but it was a tilting

within myself,

as one turns a mirror to flash the light to where

it isn’t — I was blinded like that — and swam

in what shone at me

only able to endure it by being no one and so

specifically myself I thought I’d die

from being loved like that.

From Marie Howe

Marie Howe is the State Poet of New York. She teaches writing at Sarah Lawrence College.

On cloudy, rainless day...walking the Oregon beach with friends and their delighted dogs. Surf breaks about two hundred yards offshore (it's low tide at the moment) with wave crests of ten to fifteen in height...relatively calm after an earlier storm.

Looking southwest at surf breaks

Looking north to the Hecta and Yachts highlands

Looking due west; next stop would be Sapporo, Japan, approximately 4,445 miles with absolutely nothing in-between the two cities except the Pacific Ocean.

Reposting some of my favorite poems. 

**************************************

This journey has taken its toll
     My body, older, less agile
          Struggles as it faces
The cold, the rain, and...
                                       uncertainty.

Yet, my heart knows where I must be.

As I shed these ill-considered
    Personal choices, commitments,
          And, yes, relationships

I find myself inner resolve, focused
    On what I know
          Is best for me.

What I seek has been inside of me
    All along, ...and, now,

It will be fulfilled, and
   I'll be transformed into who
        and where I'm meant to be.

********************************************************

I have been in love in numberless forms, numberless times.
     In life after life, in age after age, forever.

My spellbound heart has made and remade itself.

I take you a gift, which you wear in your many forms,
     In life after life, in age after age, forever.

****************************************************

The melody will not be denied,

     Gleaned from dreams,

          Crafted with skill and grace.

The tune reveals itself in black on white,

     Echoing into ivory,

          While a full moon prowls rakish clouds. 

The stillness outside belies the churn within,

     The refrain encases the song,

          As darkness unlocks perfect symphonies.

***************************************************

A red brick chimney

     protrubes from a gray roof.


Like a periscope;

     these homes are all submarines,

          on these urban ocean floors.


Maybe we are deep sea divers,

     with trees of waving kelp.


As we walk these trenchs

     serving as our streets.


With each step we swim,

     breathing water.


And somewhere far above

     is real air, with a bright sky and sun.


We could see so clearly,

     and look down

          at the murky depths we left behind.




***********************************************

Thalassophile: a person who loves the seas, ocean and water. So...yes, that is who I am. Who would have imagined, growing up in landlocked Kansas, with very little water around. I plan on adding more photos from other locations outside the U.S.  Until then...

I've been gone a while…

And I hope you understand,

That I must do what I must do

To become a better man.

If I was to just to act a fool, and

Do nothing with myself

Then all my blessings would be cursed.

It's a joy when I sit down, and

Remember the good times that we had.

Well I hope you'll find it in your heart,

And know these words are true.

And please don't fuss —

Because I must go do what I must do.

Even though the road is rocky,

I'll be home with you again.

I just had to bare my cross.

Now I'm free: in time,

Space, and a different place.

How perfect we might be.

I would be the blowing wind,

You'd be that willow tree.

And I could never bear the thought of you not by my side.

So I would be the warmth of day,

You'd be the cool of night.

And everyday I pray you will see I must fulfill my destiny.

I hope you'll find it in your heart,

And know these words are true.

God knows,

Life is one big road.

With a lot of turns and twists, 

And curves.

But hold on, every single road I roll on,

Comes to an end and I’ll be back home again.

So baby please don't cry. 

There's no valley too low and there's no mountain too high.

Our love don't die with the passage of time.

It just grows and just keeps strong.

And even though I'm gone, I am never too far.

You're the light through the dark, shining right through my heart.

So my journey must start!