Beautiful Cynicism III

« Demain du ventre du temps surgira une année nouvelle. »

Njabulo S. Ndebele

Je l’ai rêvé? c’eût été beau
De s’appeler ta bien-aimée;
D’entrer sous ton aile enflammée,
Où l’on monte par le tombeau:
Il résume une vie entière,
Ce rêve lu dans un regard:
Je sais pourtant que ta paupière
En troubla mes jours par hasard.

Photo: absolumentfemmes.com

My mouth hovers across your breasts
in the short grey winter afternoon
in this bed we are delicate
and touch so hot with joy we amaze ourselves
tough and delicate we play rings
around each other our daytime candle burns
with its peculiar light and if the snow
begins to fall outside filling the branches
and if the night falls without announcement
there are the pleasures of winter
sudden, wild and delicate your fingers
exact my tongue exact at the same moment
stopping to laugh at a joke
my love hot on your scent on the cusp of winter

Adrienne Rich, My Mouth Hovers Across Your Breasts

Love is all we have, the only way each can help the other.

Euripides, Orestes

When love is in excess, it brings a man no honour, nor worthiness.

-Euripides, Medea

Photo: maion.com

 
“Pour ceux qui ont besoin d’être dorlotés“… C’est moi, pour l’instant.

Je me sens comme une “demoiselle dans la détresse”… Ils sont à mon côté à tous les moments. Ils me font des promesses: de livrer du sommeil à mes yeux fatigués, de soulager mes douleurs, d’être “le plus apaisant”… Even as my nose bleeds, my chest wheezes, and my eyes water, I heed their call. They are my army, my beloved companions these days and nights of misery. I know their continued usage can make things worse, but I can’t help it; the prospect of being able to breath unencumbered, being able to sleep uninterrupted, is too great. I am at their mercy and they know it. Ils sont aimables, bienveillants, patients. All they ask for is my continued loyalty.

For those of us living in Commonwealth countries, today is Boxing Day (known in the UK as the Feast of St. Stephen’s). Historically, the day after Christmas was the time when wealthy families would bestow offerings of food, cloth, and tools to their servants – put in plain boxes, so as to be easier for the servants to carry back to their quarters, hence the name “Boxing Day”.

Nowadays, it is simply a time for extending the Christmas holiday – continuing visits with family and friends, eating leftovers from the Christmas meal, and having yet another day off of work. Actually, the most popular activity on Boxing Day (at least in Canada) is shopping: even though it is an official holiday, most stores are open, and they generally save their biggest sales and best discounts for this particular day. It is one of the busiest shopping days of the year… which is why I stay home!

Photo: noeleternel.com

Noël est là,
Ce joyeux Noël, des cadeaux plein les bras,
Qui réchauffe nos coeurs et apporte la joie,
Jour des plus beaux souvenirs,
Plus beau jour de l’année.

Washington Irving

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

J’ai quittée l’autobus peu de temps après; et comme chaque fois que je débarque le Santa Bus, pendant tout l’après-midi un sourire chatouillait mes lèvres.

Is this picture a foreshadowing of things to come? Will I be baking cookies? Not likely. It is already 11:00 and I am still in my pyjamas. My “To Do” list is getting longer by the minute…

Today’s To Do List:

- bake cookies? (probably not, but it’s a nice thought so
  I’ll keep it on the list!)
- make “nuts & bolts” mix
- finish buying gifts
- finish wrapping gifts
- ride the Santa Bus (more on that later)
- purchase Tofurkey?
- finish making Christmas cards and collages
- remain cheerful while others scowl and grumble
- walk in the snow

Citation du jour:

“Celui qui n’a pas Noël dans le coeur ne le trouvera jamais au pied d’un arbre.”  -Roy L. Smith

Compte à rebours!

Citation du jour:

“Quand on a bonne conscience, c’est Noël en permanence.”  -Benjamin Franklin

NB: Pour ceux qui m’ont visité hier et qui ont vu le photo mignon du chien, désolé pour l’avoir supprimer; c’était trop gros et le blog ne pouvait pas le supporter!

In the dark and damp of the alley cold,
Lay the Christmas tree that hadn’t been sold;
By a shopman dourly thrown outside;
With the ruck and rubble of Christmas-tide;
Trodden deep in the muck and mire,
Unworthy even to feed a fire…
So I stopped and salvaged that tarnished tree,
And thus is the story it told to me:

Her mother despaired and feared the end,
But from that day she began to mend,
To play, to sing, to laugh with glee…
Bless you, O little Christmas Tree!
You died, but your life was not in vain:
You helped a child to forget her pain,
And let hope live in our hearts again.

Robert William Service, The Christmas Tree

Winter kept us warm, covering
Earth in a forgetful snow…

T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land (excerpt)