Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Enjoy the Night as Much as You Can








My cold drips on, though I'm feeling much better. It's interesting having a death-rattle type wheeze in the chest, but I'm feeling fine with the OTC remedies courtesy of Long's. Thanks to those who offered their Get Wells.

The Caldo de Pollo from El Bajio restaurant on Saturday afternoon was a lifesaver and, as I just explained to a coworker, seemed at the time like the best thing I had ever tasted. Nothing goes together quite like winter illness and some hot, salty broth. The bouillabaise on Sunday—while a noble experiment—wasn't an absolute success, though I'm looking forward to leftovers tonight.

Unfortunately, the stank of homemade salmon broth is becoming the bane of my existence, and rediscovering the scent of fish on various saucepans and utensils days later is almost enough to make me retch. I now can see more clearly why some people have an aversion to le poisson. Sometimes the little things make one grateful for not having to work in a cannery or on a dangerous boat off the coast of Alaska in order to put food on the table.

Sunday night I stumbled across the verse below, which made me once again very glad to have discovered the Sufi poet Hafiz a couple of years ago.

Coincidentally, it's supposed to start raining again later today and continue through the week, which will be nice for further hunkering down under the covers in what I like to think of these days as my cozy treehouse.

*     *     *     *     *
It rained during the night
And two puddles formed in the dark
And began chatting
One said,

"It is so nice to at last be upon this earth
And to meet you as well,

But what will happen when
The brilliant Sun comes
And turns us back into spirit again!"

Dear ones,
Enjoy the night as much as you can,

Why ever trouble your heart with flight,
When you have just arrived
And your body is so full of warm desires,
And look:

So many meadows of soft hair are
Planted upon you.

Why ever trouble yourself with God
When He is so unjudging
And kind

Unless you are blessed and live
Near the circle of a
Perfect One?

4 comments:

Papagayo said...

You see, I want a lot.
Perhaps I want everything:
the darkness that comes with every
infinite fall
and the shivering blaze of every
step up.

So many live on and want nothing,
and are raised to the rank of
prince
by the slippery ease of their light
judgments.

But what you love to see are faces
that do work and feel thirst.

You love most of all those who need
you
as they need a crowbar or a hoe.

You have not grown old, and it's
not too late
to dive into your increasing depths
where life calmly gives out its own
secret.

-You See I Want a Lot-
-Rainer Maria Rilke-

LadrĂ³n de Basura (a.k.a. Junk Thief) said...

Bouillabaise and poetry in the midst of the sniffles? Gee, will you come take care of me the next time I get a cold? Glad you're improving. We got the rain around 9:30 this morning, so it's surely on its way down to you.

Salty Miss Jill said...

I'm glad you're feeling better, sweetness. :)
Lovely poem.
Gack-salmon. In all forms. I recommend lemon juice to get rid of the stank.

BigAssBelle said...

oh my, i have this vision of you sitting near a window wrapped in a quilt. you're sniffling a little in between sips of something hot and comforting, and you're reading magnificent poetry.

i have such a limited intellect that i read poetry in secret. i haven't a clue what it means, but the words speak to my soul and so it becomes a private pleasure.