Loss...



Waves...

Today...





Birds...



The great enigma...



The news that Tomas Tranströmer‎ has been awarded the Nobel prize for literature had me almost running to my bookcase to reread some of his poems. I'm delighted that he has been recognised in this way.

I was first introduced to his work five years ago, by a fellow blogger on myspace (how 'old-school' that seems now...). After reading just a few lines, I promptly ordered myself a couple of books - 'The great enigma' and 'The half-finished heaven'.

The picture above is from the cover of The Great Enigma.

Here are a couple of his poems - one from each book.

Calling Home

A telephone call flowed out into the night, and it gleamed here

and there in the fields, and at the outskirts of cities.

Afterward I slept restlessly in the hotel bed.

I resembled the compass needle the orienteer runner carries as

he runs with heart pounding.

~~~

The Tree and the Sky

There’s a tree walking around in the rain,
it rushes past us in the pouring grey.
It has an errand. It gathers life
out of the rain like a blackbird in an orchard.

When the rain stops so does the tree.
There it is, quiet on clear nights
waiting as we do for the moment
when the snowflakes blossom in space.

both by Tomas Tranströmer

Every day is poetry day!

Today is national poetry day in the UK. But for me, and many others, poetry is important every day - whether I'm reading it or writing it or thinking it... It is far too important to be thought of only once a year! Maybe I'm taking it all too literally!

I recently completed my Staying Alive trilogy, editted by Neil Astley, so I thought I'd include a couple  of the poems from the books as part of today's blog...

And the days are not full enough

And the days are not full enough

And the nights are not full enough

And life slips by like a field mouse

Not shaking the grass

Ezra Proud

from 'Staying Alive'

~~~~

Quietness

Inside this new love, die.
Your way begins on the other side.
Become the sky.
Take an axe to the prison wall.
Escape.
Walk out like someone suddenly born into colour.
Do it now.
You're covered with thick cloud.
Slide out the side. Die,
and be quiet. Quietness is the surest sign
that you've died.
Your old life was a frantic running
from silence.

The speechless full moon
comes out now.

Rumi

translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne

from 'Being Human'

~~~

Here

 Here I am in the garden laughing
an old woman with heavy breasts
and a nicely mapped face

how did this happen
well that's who I wanted to be

at last a woman
in the old style sitting
stout thighs apart under
a big skirt grandchild sliding
on off my lap a pleasant
summer perspiration

that's my old man across the yard
he's talking to the meter reader
he's telling him the world's sad story
how electricity is oil or uranium
and so forth I tell my grandson
run over to your grandpa ask him
to sit beside me for a minute I
am suddenly exhausted by my desire
to kiss his sweet explaining lips

Grace Paley

from 'Being Alive'

you don't have to put on the red light...

...Awareness and constant self-reflection are prerequisites in my line of work, along with examining and challenging my beliefs, ethics and principles on a regular basis. Clients come for counselling for a wide range of reasons, and some 'issues' are a lot more 'sensitive' than others, so it's really important for a counsellor to be aware of how they how they react and how they feel about all sorts of different topics, ranging from parenting styles, religion, sexual preferences, affairs, political beliefs, termination, adoption, through to the use of escorts, porn and so on... (this list is in no particular order; it's just the order in which the words came out of my head and on to the screen, by the way)...

I can be quite set in my ways and beliefs and opinions, but I have much more of an open mind when it comes to my clients; I have the awareness and acceptance that everyone is unique and has their own set of values. As a counsellor, part of my role involves trying hard to see things from my clients' perspectives, rather than from my own. Therefore, I can find myself feeling that from a client's perspective, it is quite acceptable to have an affair, although that is something that I can't imagine doing myself.

However, on some matters, it is harder and more challenging to be able to accept clients' opinions without judgement; nor would it be right to. Racism springs to mind as an example... But I'm digressing from the point of this blog now, so I'll try to steer myself back onto the subject in hand.

Over the last couple of days, the subject of porn and the use of 'escorts' is something I've been reflecting upon... including thoughts about sexual objectification and so forth...

It's got me thinking... who is really being exploited??

- the woman, who is making money from her body and sexuality?

- or the man, who is paying, sometimes a lot of money, for something that shouldn't have a price tag on it...

... maybe it's a case that 'making love' is something that money can't buy... maybe 'sex' is something different...

Loss of respect is another aspect of prostitution, but whose respect has been lost? Maybe a woman feels empowered, rather than disrespectful or disrespected... maybe it is the man who has lost self-respect or is disrespectful... or maybe a man can feel more self-respect for using an escort... and maybe he is respectful towards the escort?

'Power' is another angle on this - the man paying money is in a position of power, but maybe the woman demanding money is also in a position of power....

Maybe the key is 'choice'... maybe if a woman chooses to be an escort or prostitute, and is happy with her decision, then it is acceptable and empowering... but what about all the people who are forced into prostitution and have no choice, so feel trapped, scared, disempowered, and so on??

hmm... it's a complex subject and is one that I'll no doubt be continuing to reflect upon over the next few weeks...

Please feel free to add your own comments...