mister don’t-knower

This reading is from a passage written in 1918 by a man enlisted in World War I on the side of the British. He was Siegfried Sassoon, ultimately a company commander.  He was no friend of the war or the British Army. He begins by addressing a dead friend who was killed in a disastrous military encounter.  

Siegfried sounds like an amazing person. He was decorated for saving many lives with conspicuous risk to self.  And he was a successful writer of poetry- conveying the ugly truths he found as he fought the war.  And protesting how his military was being wrapped in politics and how maneuvers were being conducted wrongly as a direct result…which is what happened when his friend died.  His essays bashed persons and institutions, to where his self restraint became a problem and repercussions became bigger. But a brilliant life he lived.

I wonder how his superiors felt about balancing his outright defiance against his heroism. How do you punish a hero? A soldier you have promoted to Company Commander.  And how many of "his suicide missions" risked his mate's lives along with his own?  Ultimately he was placed somewhere for  help with his declining mental status.  Reminder to self.. follow up on this person..

Reference found in The Internet Archive under The Essay- BBC Radio 3: 6/21/2017. The reader is Joanna Bourke.

a soldier's declaration

It isn't about a discontented car that leaves home in search of a better life. It’s about the car you use to get away from the bank you just robbed.

the getaway car

the reach

In bed you stare at the ceiling.
Wondering why you spent yesterday
Counting the time left until today.
At the time you were counting the time until tomorrow.

I made some notes yesterday. I got to thinkin'.
So I put the notes in the postage.
In case I ever got to prove
I ever got back from yesterday.

Let's do this  soon!

Let's get some privacy
in  a willow tree,
just you and me, 
except for the critters, 
which are not there.  
And the wine that makes us pretend.

Just you and me 
under a willow tree, 
Exactly where we like to be.
When we're counting the days until tomorrow.

counting the days until          tomorrow

This song is dedicated to my wife Cheryl. 

She is a scientist at heart and especially loves ginkgo trees.

We'll be married 40 years in May.

I ask her to give a listen before I post my songs.  I fixed the ending of this song Ginkgo because of something she noticed. Ha ha and I thought it was finished!  We both know that some of my songs are not exactly her cup of tea. She seems to like this one pretty well.

She's a real nice girl and a great co-producer.

ginkgo

view with a room

unbreakable plans

one fell swoop

pushing his luck

wake up to you

Who then is this, that he commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”  Luke 8:25

even winds and water

...he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit...

The Washing

"Under the Sun" is a phrase in Ecclesiastes, a book of the Christian Bible, that refers to everything that is done and everything that happens in our lives.  And if it is something Under the Sun, it is within the Lord's wisdom. Our part is to gain the wisdom to see God's relevance in our lives. To keep gaining.

Under The Sun

we'll see...

all our days

A gentleman we called "The Green Man" lived in the area where I grew up. His name was Raymond Robinson and he lived from 1910-1985.  He was known to walk from his home up to a tavern where he would meet friends. Or make new ones. This tunnel was on his way.  Apparently he would only walk at night; and we thought this was because his face was very disfigured from a work accident and differently colored.  People said he was a very nice man. I never met him.  But I did go looking for him.

Besides the one who lived by me, there are other mentions of someone called "The Green Man".  Maybe this refers to Raymond when he lived somewhere else.  Or maybe products of the imagination.  Or maybe there is someone else somewhere who also fits the description and has that name. Our Raymond was a real person.  I made this song a little mysterious because this is how some people thought of him.

green man's tunnel

dancing without words

Writing "Then and There" started 7 months ago with three notes and a spark of promise. It was finished this week when the 3- note spark fanned into flame.

then and there

Collaborative work between Karin Tarabochia (Augenmerk), Anders K. Langstrand and Marty Wilson (Open Strings).  We hope you like it :)  eM

where does the sun begin? / a collaboration with Karin Tarabochia.

eyes of a pure mind

hunker down

Value of Time

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On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink”. - John 7:37


Bring the thirsty and let them drink.
Come over here and get a drink. 
This man says, “come to me and drink”.
And suddenly I had to turn and stop and think.
And face all my uncertainty.
And wonder about eternity.
And where to place my hope.

He says it's living water- 
flowing like a river-
through the life of the believer.
In the spirit of the savior. 
Poured into his endeavors-
With the seeker, the warrior, 
The thinker, deceiver. 
The never-receiver.
The almost-believer.

It's a life inside that’s more than you.
Extending through, out past your view.
Running past the walls of you.
Like the streams and rivers like to  do.

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P.S. I painted the picture in 1994 and recorded the song in 2020.  So technically this thing took 26 years before it was done ;-) 
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the great day

Awake in a Dream

Riding on a raft.
The size of myself times two.
At least I can lie down here, he observed.
But there he stood, bearing the waves 
With style and grace.
Not the freak-out craze 
you'd expect
From a giraffe riding on a raft.

Then he said...
At sea, at night, with the moon as my light.
On a raft with a sail, nothing else in sight.
The insistent waves, the clenching winds.
Blowing tight in my sail.
Then a kick in the shins.
I tuck my tail under.  Tuck it real tight.
And skip across like a stone.
A flash in the night.
I leave behind a rooster tail wake.
Just a wake in my dream.

I see her out there.
20–foot tall if she’s an inch.
Her raft-a wreck-a victim to the waves.
I snatch her out just in time and see she's so fine. 

So I decided this is just fine.
Better than continuous solitude 
On a big raft. 
With room for one more.
In a dream I took her flowers.
Yes a dream within a dream! 

And today she's my mate,
 who kind of won't stop cursing me.
But who otherwise is just fine. 

I feign deafness- a common giraffe reaction. 
Till she starts ramming my neck with her horns. 
Is she mean- or just want some attention?
Or to show some affection?

I never have understood girl giraffes. 
That’s just something I thought I should mention.

The mangoes. Growing in a grove.
I lift one to her mouth.  Trying to be nice.
She bites down, and it squirts back into my face.
She licks me down...
And it's just…
It’s polite to divert one's eyes at this point.

Just when a new subspecies is about to appear…
We find ourselves in a blinding fast muscle car.
Blue lights closing in.
One foot on the brake, and one on the spin. 
Forward in time, ready to blast.
No recollection after that.
Just a big blur and a flat.

Just her face surrounded by fireflies…
I tell her all my secrets. I confess all my lies.
Sometimes after that is when she swings her horns into my neck.
Where did she ever get lashes that long?
Soon we find a shady spot.
And soon some little small bodies hit the floor.

But now we’re passing again
Into the whirl of the wind.
Out on a raft.
A calm sea at night.
The moon glowing light. 
All this to my complete delight.

Now basically, my needs are simple.
I practice my rear kick. But haven’t needed it in a while.
I have placed my mark in distant places. 
I thank my maker.
I give love to my mate.
I teach my sons how to be a man.
And how to dream dreams
The best they can.

And her eyelashes still flutter.
The girl I met.
Who has joined me.
Lying awake in a dream.

open strings

Pinned to spotlight

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