January 24, 2023: 25 miles north of here is Canada / Reruns: January 20, 21, 22, 23, 24: Working with Intuition and Three Angels (1984/1992), Middle of the Journey (1984), Person with Helpers (1982-1984), People Listening (1984), and Homage to Edvard Munch (1984)

 Cross That Line

“Paul Robeson stood
on the northern border
of the USA
and sang into Canada
where a vast audience
sat on folding chairs
waiting to hear him.
He sang into Canada.
His voice left the USA
when his body was
not allowed to cross that line.
Remind us again,
brave friend.
What countries may we
sing into?
What lines should we all
be crossing?
What songs travel toward us
from far away
to deepen our days?”

Naomi Shihab Nye

It’s pretty intriguing to follow poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s idea that most of us actually “think in poems” whether we know it or not. Rarely, as she points out, do you hear anyone say they feel worse after writing things down. That, she says, can be a tool to survive in hard times like these, to anchor our days and to get into a conversation and community with all of the selves that live on in each of us at any given moment — “your child self, your older self, your confused self, your self-that-makes-a-lot-of-mistakes.” We also hear her read her beloved poem “Kindness” and tell us the story behind it.

(from introduction to interview with Naomi Shihab Nye)

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And now for the re-runs:

January 20, 2007

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January 21, 2007

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January 22, 2007

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January 23, 2007

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January 24, 2007

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"... We always did feel same, we just saw it from a different point of view ..."

(Bob Dylan lyrics from "Tangled Up in Blue')

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"... My dreams are beyond control ..."

(Bob Dylan lyrics from "Dear Landlord")