One
The lake is illuminated with Colors that do not exist
and ripples come from every direction rolling the Colors that do
not
exist and crossing to make patterns that are impossible
and my Light illuminates the Colors
and the colors illuminate my Light
and i break the surface with my snout and then with my eyes and
finally with my back
and i move slowly along the shore
and i fly toward the shore my long neck extended
and i feather my wings and stretch out my legs and curve my neck
and i land on the high branch of an oak
and i overlook the lake in silence and then my message comes to
me
and i voice two hoarse cries across the water and i push off
from the branch and beat my wings and i fly off across the lake
and i jump out of the water and catch me in my mouth and we fall
back
into the water the Eater and the Eaten and ripples radiate and
make
impossible patterns of impossible patterns of Colors that do not exist
and i soar across the lake surface and i suddenly descend and take
me
with my talons and we fly off across the water the Eater and the Eaten
and i know that we are all One.
Kenneth C. Leibman
|
From the Author. . .
This poem had its genesis on the pier on Lake Griffith, at dawn on Palm Sunday morning 1987, during Southeastern Yearly Meeting. I was alone on the pier for about an hour, and observed the early-morning activities of many of the creatures of the lake. During the closing Meeting for Worship later that morning, I meditated on the events on the pier that dawn. Towards the end of the hour, I felt it necessary to speak of the experience. While speaking, I found myself falling into the usage of identification with each of the creatures in turn-this was not premeditated, but happened as I spoke. And the last line came to me suddenly, and I spoke it without thinking, just before I sat down. On returning home I wrote out a rough version which has undergone changes in form over the years from sonnet to prose poem. |
New in Our Library
The book Illness and the Art of Creative Self-Expression is now available at area bookstores. Its author, John Graham-Pole, professor of pediatrics at U of F and co-founder of the Arts in Medicine program, has written this for those with chronic illness. Thank you John, for this gift.
Love is the Hardest Lesson: A Memoir, by Margaret Hope Bacon.
The title of the book is taken from a quote by William Penn:
Love is the hardest lesson in Christianity, but for that reason it should be most our care to learn it.
The author "gives us a vivid account of her experience working in a state psychiatric institution as the young wife of a C.O. during WWll. . . Margaret's personal story movingly illustrates the transformative power of love which casts out fear and restores to others their sense of humanity."
NOTES OF INTEREST:
Annie McPherson and David Cook have asked to be married under the care of the meeting.
Anne Winefordner and Mark Peter Van Fetko were married on July 15. They live in Gainesville.
Ian Andrew Winefordner was born on July 29th, 2000 to Carl and Mary Jo Winefordner. He weighed 8 pounds and 4 ounces. The family lives in Laguna Beach, Cal.
David Wilson died August 15. A Quaker Memorial Service was held at the chapel at The Village. His wife Virginia is still in residence at The Village.
Many thanks to Laura Winefordner for inviting Friends to their beach house. We savored time to talk (and listen), walk on the beach, ride the waves, greet the morning sun, laugh together, and share a rich meeting for worship.
The Gainesville Community Ministry would welcome foodstuffs for the many families that come to their door. Particularly needed are canned fruit, cereals, canned meat, milk, beans, spaghetti sauce, and macaroni.
Friends Committee on National Legislation is asking us to choose our top seven priorities from among the following list of eighteen:
- Criminal justice system
- Climate change and global warming
- Military spending
- Obligation to Native Americans
- Non-violent international dispute resolution
- Comprehensive health-care for all
- Economic justice and protection of the environment
- National environmental protection laws
- Family planning
- Economic sanctions and embargoes
- Civil rights for women and minorities
- Gun control
- Arms control
- Campaign-finance reform
- Rights of conscience
- UN dues
- Death penalty
- Disparity between rich and poor
Further explanation is available at the meeting house. You may, if you wish, send your list to the FCNL policy committee at 245 2nd St. NE, Washington, DC, 2000.
Toward a new meetinghouse
We have a survey of the property showing the 100-year flood plain near the northeast corner of the lot where we expect to build.The garden shed is currently on hold, since to build one, we would need a building permit and there is a moratorium on such permits while the city grapples with the issue of "dorm houses" in single family areas. We will probably buy a prebuilt shed, which does not require a permit.
We've planned work days on September 30 and October 28 to keep on clearing the way to a picnic spot and get rid of more noxious weeds. They are all 8:30 am to 11:am, but feel free to drop by when you can.
The sketch below is a possible floor plan for a meetinghouse. This one was
contributed by Bernard Brennan. Send word to the Building Committee about
the features you like.
Annie McPherson, editor mcphea@ufl.edu
converted to HTML by Bill Mitchell, mitchell@math.ufl.edu