Tulips

I wish I could live with you

In a small town,

Where eternal twilight

And eternal bells,

And in a small country inn – a delicate ringing

Of an old clock – droplets of time.

And sometimes, in the evening, from some attic –

A flute,

And the flutist himself in the window.

And the big tulips on the windowsills.

And maybe you wouldn’t even love me…

Marina Tsvetaeva

“Attention without feeling … is only a report.” 


"Finally I said, Is that you? Is that you whistling? Yes, she
said. I used to whistle, a long time ago. Now I see I can
still whistle. And cadence after cadence she strolled
through the house, whistling.

I know her so well, I think. I thought. Elbow and an-
kle. Mood and desire. Anguish and frolic. Anger too.
And the devotions. And for all that, do we even begin
to know each other? Who is this I’ve been living with
for thirty years?

This clear, dark, lovely whistler?"

Mary Oliver

“You can never know anyone as completely as you want. But that’s okay, love is better.” Caroline Paul

Fence: Reflecting Upon

“I am what I am, Leila,” Mr. Spock declares after the spores’ effect has worn off and his emotions are again in check. “And if there are self-made purgatories, then we all have to live in them. Mine can be no worse than someone else’s.” (c)

Approaching Portraiture

Disguised