Yoga

While holding my legs crossed in turtle pose at the morning session in Yogalife Studio, the instructor softly said, "Breathe deeply as we hold this pose and meditate on what life was like when we also were turtles."

A Yoga Haiku

My laugh breaks silence
Bringing disapproval for
Turtles are quiet.

An experiment in poetry

This might be horrible of me, but I think everybody has experienced this at some point in their life with a certain memorable person...

Lost

Bore, n.: A person who talks when you wish him to listen.
- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Avoiding eye contact, I charted my path to the door
but the waves always part for him and he glided easily
through the crowd to my side, a contented sigh falling
from his mouth to the floor like a ship dropping anchor.

Mundane comments swelled monotonous stories,
and as my feet foundered on a rolling deck of
disorienting drivel, the bile began rising in the back
of my throat. My distress flares fell sputtering, unnoticed.

He permitted a pause to try his drink, but i was already lost
in the fog of his fulminations, helpless spectator as the evening
ran aground on rocks of ridiculous rhetoric.
Politely excusing myself, I lowered a lifeboat into

roiling waters

and rowed

awkwardly

away.

-RAH

Lessons from Hemingway

Hemingway is a master of subtle symbolism, and his novel "The Sun Also Rises" is no exception. It ends with Brett crying in Jake's arms and still unreconciled to the separation of their paths. She says, "Oh, Jake, we could have had such a damned good time together." This last scene is linked to the title which describes dawn - the time of day where lovers part. And although at first glance the story appears hopeless, I think the lives of Hemingway's characters point to the evil under the sun that Solomon said was common to man: he can have all the wealth and honor to be desired, but without the gift of enjoyment it all turns to vanity. Contrary to modern beliefs that we should seek for more of what gives us pleasure, perhaps we should look for the ability to enjoy what we already have.