The Touch

I seem to have lost my touch,
and it is really making me sad.
I used to write, you see.  I used to
be able to write. But now I can't
even hold a pen
right.  My penmanship is
getting worse everyday.  The words are
not coming.  No, they are, but they are
not the ones I want. Not the right ones.

I used to love the touch.
I would hone it and sharpen it on the roughest
of words, the most grating ideas.  And smooth
it down till it was fine like
silk and warm water on skin. And words
that flow, I bathed in them. But now I can't
even type a phrase
right.  The embossed letters on
the click-clacking keys bother
my fingertips - braille for the wordless
poet.  They disturb, they tickle
the nerves.  And  still the words,
the right words do not come.

I would love to have the touch
back.  Again and again in a back
and forth motion my pen
scrawls across cheap yellowing sheets,
nudge dormant verses come
awake from lethargic forgetfulness.
My old typewriter's keys singing
an old song.  That song that my fingers
used to play on the black and white.
I used to write.  But now I can't
even remember the feeling of touching
words.  They do not come. 

Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees

Her green plastic watering can
For her fake Chinese rubber plant
In the fake plastic earth
That she bought from a rubber man
In a town full of rubber plans
To get rid of itself

It wears her out, it wears her out
It wears her out, it wears her out

She lives with a broken man
A cracked polystyrene man
Who just crumbles and burns
He used to do surgery
For girls in the eighties
But gravity always wins

It wears him out, it wears him out
It wears him out, it wears him out

She looks like the real thing
She tastes like the real thing
My fake plastic love
But I can't help the feeling
I could blow through the ceiling
If I just turn and run

It wears me out, it wears me out
It wears me out, it wears me out

If I could be who you wanted
If I could be who you wanted all the time

All the time...
All the time...

Sleeping Beauty

I would rather not see

the world without him

who shall love me.

This bed shall be haven

and Hell will not have me

until he finds me here,

under the dust I shall be.

What is a hundred years;

what is a moment? No, time

does not matter. It does not

hold me, does not

curse me. Still I shall wait

in dreams. In dreams I'll live,

as I'm dead awake. Unkissed,

untouched, until he.

E.B. White - Charlotte's Web

What an unforgettable story.  I first read this book back when I was in elementary school.  I loved it then and I love it more now that I’ve re-read it in my thirties.  A tale of true friendship that is so simply and honestly told, it could only tell the truth.  Every person, young and old, should read it.

I especially love the way death is presented in this story.  It is not something that is to be feared.  It is sad, yes, but it is merely part of nature and life, just like the changing of the seasons and the growth of children.  How elegantly and gracefully it was handled.  How very beautiful.

Departures (おくりびと)

This is one of the most gracefully told stories I have ever witnessed.  Upon having seen it, it’s really no wonder why it won all that acclaim.  The plot revolves around Daigo, who lost his job and ended up going back to the countryside and landing a job that he assumed had something to do with being a travel agent.  This is a story about the trials that people face in life, a search for a purpose, the human concept of death and the loss, grief, and acceptance that go with it.  It is about family and the relations we have with those people around us who shape our lives.  All of these and more wrapped in an exquisite presentation of Japanese culture and tradition.  How precise and elegant every moment of this film is!  Nothing was overdone.  The music, the performance of the cast, the pacing of the story, everything just flowed smoothly and went straight to the heart.  Every laugh and tear that the movie elicits is well worth it.  “Departures” will be one of my high-ranking favourites from now on.

Adele - Someone Like You

I heard that you're settled down
That you found a girl
And you're married now

I heard that your dreams came true.
Guess she gave you things I didn't give to you

Old friend why are you so shy?
Ain't like you to hold back or hide from the light

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over

Never mind I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
"Don't forget me," I begged
"I'll remember," you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead."
Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead.

You know how the time flies
Only yesterday it was the time of our lives
We were born and raised in a summer haze
Bound by the surprise of our glory days

I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited
But I couldn't stay away, I couldn't fight it.
I had hoped you'd see my face and that you'd be reminded
That for me it isn't over.

Never mind I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
"Don't forget me," I begged
"I'll remember," you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead."

Nothing compares no worries or cares
Regrets and mistakes they are memories made.
Who would have known
How bittersweet this would taste?

Never mind I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
"Don't forget me," I begged
"I'll remember," you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead"

Never mind
I'll find someone like you
I wish nothing but the best for you too
"Don't forget me," I begged
"I'll remember," you said
"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead"

Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead.

Tree of Life

I just saw the movie, Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, and Jessica Chastain.
I know that there have been many things said about it, but in my honest opinion it is one
of the best films I've seen for a long while. 

It's not really a "story" type of movie to me - more of an "allegory" or an "idea."
I felt awe, wonder, grief, and ultimately gratitude as I was watching.
The creators of this movie are undoubtedly very deep, poetic thinkers, who just
also happen to be very talented nature photographers/film-makers. 
To my eye, this film was like a conversation with nature and life itself.
It is trying to ask some of the ultimate questions - Where do we come from?
Why are we here? Why must there be death? Why must there be life?
There are also some very human questions about family, parenthood, growing up,
forgiveness, guilt, friendship, and oh, so much more.  I could say more on this,
but I think this is enough.  I might not be able to stop.

I'm glad the Cannes Film Festival gave this movie the distinction it received.
Whether or not it was deserving all depends on individual opinion.
Be that as it may, I definitely think it's worth the discussion.