quite dormant, for quite some time.
and what does one do, when it all comes crashing to a stop? the brakes lock and wheels cease their spinning. the trees no longer passing by in a blur, stand still before you. where has the grace of it all gone? where is mike and where is that ferocious need to find a place to sleep? well.
you sit about listening to the smiths presently, hanging new paper lanterns. oh the smiths. they will always remind you in being in love with angie burling at the age of sixteen. that impenetrable urgency of youth. you liked candles and paper lanterns then too. i suppose there are things that will always remain the same. like my knowledge that ben jahn will be standing in some bookstore in twenty five years, looking at poetry in a pair of blue jeans. this i know. yes indeed.
so rather than ramble on at the moment scrambling for the words, i punch out a few simple thoughts, at the close of this grandiose journey. the words from the heart about the end of it all will have to wait. thus, a list if you will:
1. the writing about the great sitting will not stop, but it will fall away from here and exist only on my computer, not yours. mike, keri and i, have begun working on a book about the trip. i, we, all three will update you as updates exist. there is so much that was unspoken, untyped.
2. we will be driving the route, leaving point reyes on october 25th. simple as that. there are several reasons for this. {good god, are they completely nuts?}
3. i will begin writing again about the daily things that move me. chipmunks that eat from my hand. the turning of leaves. wind.
4. music. there is a fire in me that was quite dormant, for quite some time. i will soon be releasing many things. re-recording old things and beginning entirely new ones. i shall update thee.
oh reader, there is so much in me at the moment, my seams swelling and tearing. bones spreading like a woman's hips after the birth. there is blood on the floor, and the cries of new love. new things. a new world that awaits.
"take me out tonight because i want to see people and i want to see light..."
Posted by jeff pitcher at September 15, 2004 07:35 PM
....................................
Thank you for posting. We have been concerned for you... quietly waiting and hoping that the newness of endings and beginnings and such were going well, and as new things go, as well as could be expected.
And so this next time begins... peace be upon you, and joy, too, by stages. We look forward to your future sharings.
Posted by: desmene at September 15, 2004 07:41 PM
The poetry of your entries is just wonderful! Your images are very evocative, and cause me to remember similar times and emotional experiences in my past.
Posted by: Samantha at September 16, 2004 07:01 AM
I'm happy to see that you'll continue to post...I've really enjoyed reading your entries throughout the great sitting. Your way with words is beautiful.
Posted by: kat at September 16, 2004 07:47 AM
I'm so happy you're working on a book! The whole time I was reading your adventures, and Mike's version, as they unfolded, I was going, "they should totally write a book." And I'll buy it too, especially if Keri illustrates it.
Posted by: Annie at September 16, 2004 02:43 PM
Hooray for the Smiths! Last summer I found myself listening to them constantly and one day as I was driving to my job at the library I realized that I was exactly twice as old as the summer I was 17 and listened to the Smiths nonstop while I went to my job at the library, hung out w/John and Ed, saw the Smiths at the Pier in NYC, and got ready to go off to college. It was fun to think how much had changed and yet how much I was still that girl, still doing what I loved, but perhaps with a little more vision, certainly more experience. It's great to read about what's happening with you. I look forward to reading more as the journey continues. Take care.
Posted by: Liz at September 18, 2004 06:34 AM
Bless you, bless your ongoing journey and path and bless your marriage. Thank you for the hours of pleasure you have brought me through your journal and for letting me have my own experience of your journey. Your kindness and generosity will ensure many pleasures in your life. Go well,be safe and enjoy your life.
Posted by: Dawn at September 21, 2004 06:58 AM
YAY for There is a Light that Never Goes Out! that is exactly the song I thought of when you said Listening to the Smiths and being in love at 16. and loving paper lanterns and candles then and still.
That song, when I was 16, was totally about the promise of everything my life was going to have. (Ridiculous, of course, that then it goes into dying under a bus, but still.)
and am I still that person?
Posted by: soren at September 23, 2004 05:44 AM
