In the Pacific Northwest the opening strains of summer feel hard won after months of cloud cover and atmospheric rain. We burst out of our houses with those first few bars of sunshine played in spring, thinking it is time for dinners under the stars (much of the time we jump the gun) and winter rains return with a vengeance. The beginning of Richard, Duke of Glouster famous soliloquy from Richard III comes to mind when the season finally tempers:
Now is the winter of our discontent
Made glorious by this sun of York;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried.
Opening the windows at night officially marks spring in my house. I welcome that early squawking of the crows in the park. By the time solstice arrives, the light and the crows have trained me and I am unable to sleep beyond the 5:30 sunrise. Heady winter pursuits are abandoned for it is time to move in the sunlight. You may recall that Richard was not meant for the glorious summer of peace — a victory hard fought by his brother King Edward IV. Born with a broken body, Richard carries wounds that will not heal. He doesn’t fare well socially which leaves him to brood as he sharpens his contempt for the court:
Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
Deformed, unfinish’d, sent before my time
Into this breathing world, scarce half made up,
And that so lamely and unfashionable
That dogs bark at me as I halt by them;
Why, I, in this weak piping time of peace,
Have no delight to pass away the time,
The looping mind makes trouble. Rather than adapt to court-life, Richard pushes away. He plots, manipulates, until he eventually brings England to war. The disconnection between his mind and body drives Richard toward conflict. So let’s bring in our writers, here. At one time each of them would identify more strongly with Richard III — the plotting, the gaming of the system, the ill-fitting suit of one’s life, and the solutions found through anti-social behaviors. As we come to the end of our exploration of near and far, the writers pull us so close that we are reading about their interior landscapes. These self-reflections, prescriptions, remembrances, and groundings are the antidote to bringing a nation to its knees. Unlike the villainous Richard, our writers draw us near.
Mirror by Ian Lohrman
I have lived the most beautiful life.
I have failed miserably.
I have deceived and hurt people.
People have deceived and hurt me.
But, I have been loved unconditionally.
Nothing Could Touch Us by Jacob Sopher
Our sins were private matters
Whispered to a priest
Not scarlet letters printed on
Newspaper pages and shaped
Like steel shackles about our wrists
Tear It Down by Brett Pruett
Can you walk a mile in my shoes
Can you take a sip from my cup
I got beef with bullies
Who try to press a line
Insanity’s Response by MDSK
I have lost everything in this life,
My money, friends, family, and myself,
My home, children, and my wife,
Lost, but not forgotten upon that high shelf.
Why Do I Lie to Myself? by Jazzy Jeff
I like it when I lie to myself,
I don’t have to face my hell.
I don’t have to hear my destructions you tell,
I like it when I lie to myself.
Assumptions by Michael Wise
I assumed I had to become hardened so
I would be accepted.
My many traumas helped create many masks,
I assumed I had to wear them,
with each mask I transformed into their
perception.
Time Passed by Marcus Standing Crow
I wake up in the same frame,
different metal, different soul,
Am I the same?
A few of my near and dear have suffered some health setbacks; the summer we anticipated (swimming and hikes and long bike rides) has shifted. This season will require patience, hunkering down, and the slow, steady work of mending. Meanwhile sunlight dances across the room and the boisterous summer sounds pass under open windows. The busy mind needs to stop spinning to the next activity and settle, because wounds require rest. And my friends, there are more summers ahead. Let’s end with an excerpt from Amir’Whadi Hassan’s Far and Near, a prescription for finding peace. | TDS
Completes the Journey to Self-Love.
Step one: Mental Health
Step two: Emotional Intelligence
Step three: Spiritual Health and Enlightenment
Step four: Self Respect
Step five: Value of Self (Self-Worth)
Step six: Self-Acceptance
Step seven: Faith
What seems so far, yet it is so near
once you take the first step
toward Self-Love.
Saalam