Mark Chmiel
Placing my order at Cafe Ventana
Chatting with the uber-exuberant manager Jennifer
She says to me quite casually
“I was in family law for two years
Never made anyone happy
And I wasn’t happy
Now I’m doing this
And I make lots of people happy every day”
Skeptical?
Go and see for yourself
Jennifer taking an order
My good news is I’m still employed
My good news is I have loads of work that isn’t for pay
My good news is I get to meet ordinary, fascinating people like the ones at 2167
My good news is I’m physically able to bike from here to home in 10 minutes
My good news is people share freely here, a manifestation of Whitman’s radical adhesiveness Continue reading “Good News”
Dear Bella Levenshteyn
You texted you were concerned
Your poetry output hasn’t been consistent lately
Output flows from input
And you’re getting plenty of input
At your new position with the farmworkers, right?
Lots of thoughts via Ileana
Re: what’s been happening in Chiapas
Input, input, input Continue reading “A Little Encouragement”
We practice to have enough strength to confront problems effectively. To do this, we must be calm, fresh, and solid. That is why we need to practice the art of stopping. When we learn to stop, we become calmer, and our mind becomes clearer, like clear water after the particles of mud have settled.”
–Thich Nhat Hanh, Your True Home
It’s good to stop
Once a day
For 20 seconds
Before class
After class
Getting into the car
It’s good to stop
20 times a day
For 10 seconds
Noticing beauty
Appreciating
What’s right before me
It’s good to stop
Once a week
For a few hours
Nowhere to go
Nothing to text
Nothing to plan Continue reading “The Art of Stopping”
I am connected to Lindsay
We are really into our notebooks
I am connected to Sarah
When she was my 18 year-old student I was her 39 year-old prof
I am connected to Jane
We’re into the Chinese
I am connected to Chris
What would Fridays be without her? Continue reading “Connected”
Walking in Forest Park
I vow with all beings
To be a friendly neighbor
To the egrets, ducks, and geese
For many years, four women from different parts of the world have been meeting several times a month to read and discuss classic texts from the religions of their childhoods: Jain and Hinduism from India, Islam from Palestine, Christianity from the USA, and Buddhism from Japan.
What started out as an intellectual pursuit has evolved into deep friendships and long afternoon tea parties with international flavors. Carol Mock will share some of her experiences in this cross-cultural, inter-religious group.
Carol was born in New Jersey, grew up in Fargo (North Dakota), has lived in London (England), Accra (Ghana), Cairo (Egypt), a farm near Springfield (Missouri), Patzcuaro (Mexico), Cochabamba (Bolivia), and San Jose (Costa Rica), as well as staying in Saint Louis for the past 23 years. Her academic degrees include a PhD in linguistics from the University of London (UCL), an MA in theology from Aquinas Institute, and an MS in library science from the University of Missouri. For 15 years she was an ‘independent scholar’ — i.e., an unemployed academic who still presented papers at conferences. Since retirement she has been hybridizing daylilies and more recently, teaching English to speakers of other languages at the Saint Louis County jail.
Join us
Sunday 19 October 2014
Potluck dinner begins at 6:00 p.m.
Carol begins sharing at 6:45
At Sophia House
4547 Gibson Avenue
Forest Park Southeast
63110
Magan studied Social Justice with me in 2004; did theater work with refugee kids through Center for Survivors of Torture and War Trauma as well as Playback Theater; worked with ISM in Palestine in 2006; got MFA at University of Tennessee (Knoxville); performed in Beautiful Resistance and My Name Is Rachel Corrie; played Miranda in The Tempest (Shakespeare in the Park); now making her way in NYC; ten years later, she still calls me Professor-Friend. Here’s her take on Will Shakespeare…
Shakespeare matters because, just like Tupac, young men still quote him in juvenile detention centers. I teach acting to court-involved kids, and have for a long time, and I always feel weird about imposing another dead white writer on black-n-brown teenagers. But Shakespeare will fire up the room every time. Even if I can’t get them to read it, they will improvise the situations – “your uncle has killed your father and married your mother, and then your father’s ghost appears to you and tells you to take revenge. Ok, Dale is Hamlet and David is the ghost. Go.” They love it.
He who is without sin, let him throw the first stone
Let him drop the first canisters of napalm
Let him rain down white prosperous on those under ten years of age
Let him justify the grisly means by the glorious end
Let him destroy the village in order to save it
Let him go to church, fold his hands and pray
Let him ignore the refugee children in the vicinity
Let him assert that nothing is off the table Continue reading “The First Stone”
Hold It All 