Writings Galleries

God's Country :

God's Country

Updated: Sep 08, 2006 10:53pm PST

A Whale With Waterproof Pocketwatches For Eyes: The Poetry of Vincent Reyes : My close friend Vincent is a poet whose work resonates with me a great deal. The following are my selections from his poems.

A Whale With Waterproof Pocketwatches For Eyes: The Poetry of Vincent Reyes

My close friend Vincent is a poet whose work resonates with me a great ...

Updated: Dec 16, 2007 1:09pm PST

One Central Fire: Part One : "The anger that breaks the man into children, that breaks the child into equal birds, and the bird, afterward, into little eggs; the anger of the poor has one oil against two vinegars. The anger that breaks the tree into leaves, the leaf into unequal buds and the bud, into telescopic grooves; the anger of the poor has two rivers against many seas. The anger that breaks the good into doubts, the doubt, into three similar arcs and the arc, later on, into unforeseeable tombs; the anger of the poor has one steel against two daggers. The anger that breaks the soul into bodies; the body into dissimilar organs and the organ, into octave thoughts; the anger of the poor has one central fire against two craters." -Cesar Vallejo

One Central Fire: Part One

"The anger that breaks the man into children, that breaks the child i ...

Updated: Mar 12, 2007 12:42pm PST

One Central Fire: Part Two : "In a sense, [India] is a proving ground for whether humanity can tame itself, and whether we can eventually evolve into a 'world civilization.'" -Elisabeth Bumiller from "May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons" "If you can use some exotic booze, there's a bar in far Bombay." -Frank Sinatra

One Central Fire: Part Two

"In a sense, [India] is a proving ground for whether humanity can tame ...

Updated: Mar 12, 2007 10:28pm PST

One Central Fire: Part Three : "While the Western world was exploring the outer space, we were exploring the inner space. For centuries, our best minds, our saints, and our philosophers concentrated all their time and energy to understanding the nature of the mind. Who can say which will really matter in the end...the landing on the moon or the understanding of the mind... ...When I see beings of wicked nature, oppressed by violent misdeeds and afflictions, may I hold them dear as if I had found a rare and precious treasure." -Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama "There is some soul of goodness in things evil, Would men observingly distill it out; For our bad neighbor makes us early stirrers, Which is both healthful and good husbandry. Besides, they are our outward consciences And preachers to us all, admonishing That we should dress us fairly for our end. Thus may we gather honey from the weed, And make a moral of the devil himself." -William Shakespeare from "Henry V"

One Central Fire: Part Three

"While the Western world was exploring the outer space, we were explor ...

Updated: Mar 13, 2007 12:18am PST

One Central Fire: Part Four : "A sage, seated beside the Ganges, notices a scorpion that has fallen into the water. He reaches down and rescues it, only to be stung. Some time later he looks down and sees the scorpion thrashing about in the water again. Once more he reaches down to rescue it, and once more he is stung. A bystander, observing all this, exclaims, 'Holy One, why do you keep doing that? Don't you see that the wretched creature will only sting you in return?' 'Of course,' the sage replied. 'It is the dharma of a scorpion to sting. But it is the dharma of a human being to save.'" -an old Hindu story "But sound is never half so fair As when that music turns to air And the universe dies of excellence." -Thomas Merton

One Central Fire: Part Four

"A sage, seated beside the Ganges, notices a scorpion that has fallen ...

Updated: Jan 19, 2008 2:53pm PST

One Central Fire: Part Five : "Berenger [to Jean]: Life is an abnormal business. Jean: On the contrary.  Nothing could be more natural, and the proof is that people go on living. Berenger: There are more dead people than living.  And their numbers are increasing.  The living are getting rarer." -Eugene Ionesco from the play "Rhinoceros" "When we behave nobody cares. But when we are bad, nobody forgets." -from the Werner Herzog film "Even Dwarfs Started Small"

One Central Fire: Part Five

"Berenger [to Jean]: Life is an abnormal business. Jean: On the cont ...

Updated: Jan 20, 2008 3:02pm PST

One Central Fire: Part Six : "Like unto a grain of wheat, my heart, you, too, must fall into the ground and die. Be not afraid. If you do not, how can you bring forth fruit? How can you nourish men who die of hunger... ...Listen, little one: neither the seven stories of heaven nor the seven stories of earth are enough to contain God; but a man's heart can contain him. So be careful, Alexis - and my my blessing go with you - never to wound a man's heart." -Nikos Kazantzakis from "Zorba the Greek" "Last year, when machine guns mowed down the newly landed guerrillas, Che had to choose between a case of bullets and a case of medicines. He couldn't carry both and decided on the bullets. Now he strokes his old Thompson rifle, the only surgical instrument he really believes in." -Eduardo Galeano from "Memory of Fire, Volume 3: Century of the Wind"

One Central Fire: Part Six

"Like unto a grain of wheat, my heart, you, too, must fall into the gr ...

Updated: Feb 10, 2008 1:48pm PST

Between The Stage And The Ground : "Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the sky Like a patient etherised upon a table... ...We have lingered in the chambers of the sea By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown Till human voices wake us, and we drown." -T.S. Eliot

Between The Stage And The Ground

"Let us go then, you and I, When the evening is spread out against the ...

Updated: May 11, 2007 5:25pm PST

Between The Stage And The Ground: Epilogue : “And men crowd around the poet and say to him, ‘Sing for us soon again’ – which is as much as to say, ‘May new sufferings torment your soul, but may your lips be fashioned as before; for the cries would only distress us, but the music, the music, is delightful.’” -Soren Kierkegaard from Either/Or

Between The Stage And The Ground: Epilogue

“And men crowd around the poet and say to him, ‘Sing for u ...

Updated: May 11, 2007 5:26pm PST

Lorca's Mirror :

Lorca's Mirror

Updated: Sep 09, 2006 6:49pm PST

An Axe For The Frozen Sea : These are fragments of a quote journal I have kept over the years of things I have read and not wanted to forget.

An Axe For The Frozen Sea

These are fragments of a quote journal I have kept over the years of t ...

Updated: Jan 06, 2008 12:39pm PST