Sui Generis

June, 2017-- Kyoto, Japan. 

Japanese aesthetics and hospitality, reflecting a thoughtfulness that is always a step ahead of you.
The elegance in their style, soft-spokenness (usually outside the influence of Sake) and gentle attitude sprinkled with "sumimasen" (excuse me/I'm sorry) from the closest of friends to a stranger on the train.
Coming to Japan this June is a special one.
One filled with new sights,sounds and smells
intermingled with the comfortable familiarity of family and friends.

Tokyo -- A city of zen amidst the hustle,
Kyoto -- History ebbing with mystery.  What secrets do the Geishas know?
Osaka -- Taiyaki, Takoyaki, Sashimi, Ramen. Food Paradise;
Hiroshima -- Pain, death and life. Past and present.
Miyajima -- Torii afloat on land and on sea, walking around this little island carried its own fun.

In all these,
intuiting into all that You are,
in the yesteryears, todays,
and all of tomorrows.

Repertoire

“Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.” 
― Mary Oliver

The best things are not forced,
but they come through the rhythms of Grace.
A grace-filled heartbeat,
a love-filled pace,
a cultivated patience,
an effortless beauty.

The secure gaze untempered by fear,
the reach of kindness unsullied by self,
the attentive ear unfazed by pride.

A whole life
Is
To be
wholly Thine.

Lapis lazuli

Plumes of 'what ifs'
once fill but slowly dissipates
engulfed under the firmament of His sovereignty.

Euphrosyne

“We know no time when we were not as now..” 
― John Milton, Paradise Lost

Just when I thought Shakespeare was tough,
John Milton makes a special appearance at this point of my life.
The intertwining of Latin and Greek in his verses is enough for me to pull my hair out.
Besides Milton, William Faulkner's breakthrough performance cannot be undermined,
I only wish I started out on both these authors when I was younger.
For now, it's reading, reading and more reading.

Why did I choose literature again?
My love, my bane.

Indeed

It's the small things.
The extra hold on the door,
the quickened driving pace,
the gaze in "how are you?",
the few words that stuck,
the kiss on the cheek,
extra utensil in my luggage,
the sigh in "I miss you.",
the grip on my hand,
the little, not so little 'extras'.

One heart desire, one's heart Desire,
where all my springs are in You.