Wednesday, February 24, 2016

DARK INTERLUDE


 Moonrise
 

I have recently been doing Hollywood posts in honor of Oscar week. This is a rude interruption to update my status here in the mundane mountain wilderness.

The wicked wintery weather has abated, turning into endless torrents of mud-inducing rain. It slacked off enough on Monday for me to make the dreaded trek into town. If nothing else, I now have sufficient supplies. And cat food. And litter (for the cats, not me).

I was plagued with alarming health issues all last week, which were so bad at times that I actually left a letter in case I dropped dead. I very seldom mention health issues in my blog, for two reasons:
1. It's unbecoming to selfishly bitch
and
2. Nobody really gives a rat's ass

After plying myself with aspirin and trying to lower my insanely high stress level, I'm presently feeling better....or at least adequate. Yesterday I forced myself to do a lot of long-neglected housework. My Texas house used to be absolutely spotless. Here in my remote Tennessee shack, I've been annoyingly indifferent.

Weather forecast:
Rain will continue today (Wednesday) and turn into snow by mid-afternoon.
If I'm still alive, I plan to make more homemade soup.

It's not quite dawn as I'm writing this. Earlier tonight there was a power outage. Imagine being totally isolated, surrounded by forests, with no lights anywhere. Fortunately there was a full moon (or nearly full) which kept peeking out from behind clouds. It was very windy and actually intriguingly beautiful. I went outside to watch the ever-changing midnight clouds and the evasive moon.

I was in the process of making coffee and toast just when the lights went out. Had to finish my midnight snack by candlelight. 

I'm not complaining. I love the wilderness, the solitude, the inspiring forces of nature..... 

Now, just before dawn, the power is miraculously back on. My cats are sleeping. The rain has stopped for the moment. It is getting colder. I'll patiently await the snow....
and I'll post a few more Hollywood stories later this week (as if anyone cares....).

an excerpt from Love Letters to Ghosts

IV
 
Listen to the distant song
of the wandering wind.
You will almost hear it
whisper my name.
Things once forgotten
breathe in unison
with the soft touch of your memory.
Imagine a gentle light
sifting through parted clouds,
bathing the broken paths
of passing storms.


Songs of remembrance are like that.
They expunge the haze of faded hours,
heal the crush of broken days.
In unexpected moments
they ignite the sun's first splash of light
and dare to sing in unrehearsed gratitude.


It is there, in the dawn of yearning everafters
that the cathedral of my love will embrace you.


Jon V.

 

 

23 comments:

  1. keep the pussies satisfied and all is well. and I wanna hear more Hollywood stories!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The pussies are truly adorable and almost always satisfied. They can be a handful sometimes, but they always manage to make me laugh (which isn't easy).

      More Hollywood on the way.....

      Delete
  2. Glad you made it to town for supplies and such. Love the poem. You really are a very fine poet, Jon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dylan I appreciate your input, because you truly have the soul of a poet.

      Delete
  3. Jon,

    Just be on the alert for Werewolves out there in the full moonlight. I enjoyed the poem.

    Larry

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never thought of werewolves. You've given me a new worry.

      I always enjoy your posts, even though I don't always comment.

      Delete
  4. "yearning everafters" brings out such poignant emotions. I try not to go there.

    I hope you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get you around in the snow and mud. I wouldn't be without mine.

    I'm sure other readers besides myself do care about your welfare. None of my business but have you seen a doctor to address both your physical and mental well being? My GP prescribes me medication that keeps me from going postal most of the time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I really miss my Texas pickup truck, but it needed too many repairs so I ditched it. Now I need a sled with a team of huskies.

      I genuinely appreciate your concern. Since I don't have medical insurance, I tend to avoid doctors. I'm not yet old enough for Medicare. Through the bitter years of experience I've learned to control my anxiety - but it sure as hell isn't easy.

      Delete
  5. Beautifully composed and very moving poem, Jon. I hope your health alarms of last week have eased up. They can trigger panic attacks. When I get the jumps I find 1/2 MG of Lorazepam most efficacious. I also use a fingerclip pulse-oximeter as a feedback device to guide my breathing back to normal --and a beer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Health alarms and anxiety attacks are synonymous and I've suffered from both my entire life. I don't take any medications, and I seldom drink (mostly because booze is difficult to get here - I was often soused in Texas).

      My isolation here in the woods is blissfully peaceful...but sometimes unnerving, especially when the weather is bad. And, of course, I have a rampant imagination.

      Delete
  6. Well my friend.....I've been so busy, insanely busy, I'm over it and people and ready to ditch civilization. Do you have room for me? We can eat, drink and be marys. And I give great facials and masks. Slumber party...........im finding this civilization thing is overrated.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm more than ready to eat, drink, drink some more, and have a slumber party by candlelight.

      Delete
  7. #2? I do ... really, I do!

    Your homemade soup sounds like a marvelous antidote for the blues! Well, that and toast by candlelight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I knew I could count on you (referring to #2).

      It's so windy that it seems like Texas, although there's no dust & dirt. If the power stays on I'll make soup tonight.

      Delete
  8. Like your poem and hope you are feeling better.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Paula, I appreciate it. We are getting some real Texas-style wind today!

      Delete
  9. Replies
    1. It's a cross between a hurricane and a tornado. Texas is windy even on a calm day....

      Delete
  10. Jon, I hope your feeling okay! Please take care of yourself. Your furr babies and we readers need you!

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    Replies
    1. That is so sweet. My readers are much easier to deal with than my fur babies - but I love them all.

      Delete
  11. Jon,
    I too love the solitude of the beauty and solitude of a home in the wilderness (woods). But as I got older and had more health issues, I decided to move to a neighborhood. Oh am I glad I did because of all the emergencies I have had during the nine years (how fast time goes by) since I moved from my sylvan, wooded paradise in Pennsylvania to the totally flat coastal plain of southern Delaware. When we lived in Pennsylvania we also had the all too frequent power outages (oh did we ever) at our home in the middle of the woods. It seemed like every time there was a strong wind the power went out . . . for hours if not days. I got so tired of it.
    I hope you're feeling better now. You have a lot of fans out here in the blogosphere.
    Ron

    ReplyDelete
  12. I hope you know we all DO care about you and your health. You need to take better care of yourself. Even without health insurance, there must be some sort of reasonably-priced health clinics somewhere in your area. And most doctors will negotiate rates with cash-paying patients. My other TN pals get remarkable discounts by paying upfront.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I just found out
    Grizzly Adams died
    last month :(

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. Go ahead and leave one - I won't bite. But make sure you have a rabies shot just in case.