if you listen midst the silence of the valley the voices of the Elders from the monuments whisper down,
“You are welcome here. This land to which we were entrusted by the Great Creator of all things is ours to tend, is ours to share, is ours to enjoy, but not ours to keep;
for we pass it down to our children with the same admonition”
and in what seems a barren setting, abundant in desolation, lacking in precipitation, we look to the monuments whose beauty stands as a reminder that in such a harsh place we are not forgotten by Him
Corvette Raffle at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church Tucson Greek Festival — Image by kenne
With so many leaves, the sun waves good day with many stands shines, shines the sky and those ones inn irons and those others are in the earth.
Quiet anytime now, the church bells will signal.
This earth is theirs and ours.
Beneath the earth in their crossed arms they hold the rope of the church bells, they are awaiting the hour, waiting to signal the resurrection this earth is theirs and ours no one can take it from us
Quiet anytime now, the church bells will signal.
— from The Church Bells Will Signal by Yiannis Ritsos
Sun warms the lizard’s back and the humble back of the mountain. A raven croaks from the top of a thermal. The valley oak above the barn, dying a huge branch at a time, stands in calm mortability, content with the warm light that has fed its leaves, the dark waters that have fed its roots, its acorns that have fed the woodpeckers for five hundred rainy seasons.
I was always drawn to the roots music, bluegrass, blues, early rock – Sun Records, Elvis [Presley]. And I still love that music to this day. Memphis never gets the credit. It’s much more musically rich than Nashville ever will be. Nashville manufactured that hokey-hillbilly image way back.
Village of Elgin, Arizona, Wine Tasting Room (June 23, 2018) — Image by kenne
One day in June we tosted raising a glass with new friends on the road I quoted the poet sounding effete: “Oh, it was a brave man who drink one.” Feeling brave, we proceeded to drink.
Becoming is Superior to Being 