a caterpillar on my street

I saw a caterpillar on my street.
Caterpillar bulldozer, Rega 325.
And my thoughts go to Rachel Corrie
and to justice and peace, in Palestine
and everywhere, and every here.
Photo: Tai Hang, Hong Kong

musical

I want to stack, unstack, play.
Photo: After a function, Central District, Hong Kong

your own

Always occupy your own mind.
Photo: Central District, Hong Kong

one writer, another

I took this portrait of myself after watching
a film about the writer Hualing Nieh Engle.
Photo: On a pedestrian bridge over Waterloo Road, Kowloon Tong
Text: Hualing is a co-founder of the International Writing Program in Iowa, USA

to begin again

Monday, Monday. Another week begins.
I trust this day. 
Photo: The beginning of a meal, Japan
Text: I think of The Mamas & the Papas

I love them more

I heard Maurice Sendak the other day,

the author of 'Where the Wild Things Are'.

He said, 'I'm not unhappy. I cry a lot because

I miss people. They leave me

and I love them more.'

Photo: Honkawa schoolgrounds, a school in Hirsohima

Text: From an NPR interview with Maurice Sendak, 83, and in remembrance of my Uncle Philip (1929-2011)

holding, keeping

Osip Mandelstam: 'the purpose of history is to keep time together'
Anna Akhmatova: 'more permanent than anything on earth is sadness, and more long-lived is the regal word.'
Photo: A temple floor, Lantau Island, Hong Kong
Text: From an essay by John Berger, 'That Which Is Held'

breathing, inspiring

The word 'inspire' comes from 'breathe'
and taped on my computer at the office
is the word 'breathing'.
Photo: At a friend's studio, Masterton, New Zealand

ici

I saw this in summertime.
Maybe a popsicle, not icicle.
Photo: Cornish, Maine

editing, washing

I have some decisions to make.
Sometimes I feel a bit like this wad of cloth.
Maybe, to decide is to edit.
In Chinese, to edit is to wash.
Photo: Washcloth, New Zealand

I hear a piano

Last night, Murray Perahia live in concert, in joy, in splendor, the ticket a gift from a friend.
Today, I am thinking of my uncle in Memphis, a man who tunes the piano, a man trying to live.
Photo: A church in Cornish, Maine

world poverty day

Today is world poverty day, as designated by the UN. Maybe give something to yourself, and to people around you. I give these words:

As you are, so is the world

-ramana maharishi

The sandal tree – as if to prove how sweet to conquer hate by love – perfumes the axe that lays it low.

-tagore

It is only because of your love – only your love – that poor people will forgive you the bread you give them.

-st. vincent de paul

Peace is our work… To everyone, I say: do not be afraid to take a chance on peace, to teach peace… peace will be the last word of history.

-john paul II

I keep my ideals because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart…  I can feel the suffering of millions, and yet, if I look up into the heavens, I think that it will come right, that this cruelty too will end, and that peace and tranquility will return again.

-anne frank

The future must enter into you long before it happens.

-rainer maria rilke

I tell you, if one wants to be active, one must not be afraid of failures, one must not be afraid of making mistakes.  Many people think they will become good by doing no harm; that’s a lie… it leads to stagnation, to mediocrity.

-vincent van gogh

I still believe that standing up for the truth of god is the greatest thing in the world.  This is the end of life. The end of life is not to be happy… The end of life is to do the will of god – come what may.

-martin luther king, jr

The Sufis advise us to speak only after our words have managed to pass through three gates.

At the first gate, we ask ourselves, Are these words true?

At the second gate, Are they necessary?

At the last gate we ask, Are they kind?

-eknath easwaren

Photo: On a beach in New Zealand

shine here

Please shine here.
Photo: Northpoint, Hong Kong

as gentle as

I once lived in a one-hundred-year home like this one, with clay tiles as roof, thick stone walls, a little wooden staircase to my mezzanine desk, and ancient plants.
Rain landing on clay is almost as gentle as on leaf.
Photo: Roof, Sheung Wo Hang, Hong Kong