Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Ducklings of Nostalgia

 DUCKLINGS!

" When Donald Duck
 traded his wings
 for arms, 
was he trading up
 or trading down? "

Douglas Coupland 













Here They Come



" Being born
 in a duck yard
 does not matter, 
if only you are
 hatched 
from a swan's egg. "

Hans Christian Andersen 














One Duckling - 


" A fellow with 
the inventiveness of
 Albert Einstein 
but with the attention span 
of Daffy Duck. "

Tom Shales 













Two Ducklings!

















The Fearless Five
( I thought that the moment I saw them )



















Bye Bye

" Four ducks on a pond,
 A grass-bank beyond, 
A blue sky of spring, 
White clouds on the wing; 
What a little thing 
To remember for years 
To remember with tears! "

William Allingham


=^..^=

Chestnuts roasting
on an open fire?

The smell of 
chalk
in a classroom?

What fills
YOU
with nostalgia?


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                                  Warmly, cloudia


Monday, December 30, 2013

Recovery Rubric - PukaLani

A   L  O   H  A  !
Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor, Waikiki

  "Better by far 
you should forget 
and smile 
than you should 
remember and be sad."

Christina Rossetti 










Land of Orange

" Only by living absurdly 
is it possible to 
break out of 
this infinite absurdity. "

Julio Cortazar 









Leaf Light / Stone Dark

"Historical evidence suggests 
that anxiety can be allied to 
artistic and creative genius. 
The literary gifts of Emily Dickinson, 
for example, were inextricably bound up
 with her reclusiveness, which some say 
was a product of anxiety. 
(She was completely housebound after age 40.) 
Franz Kafka yoked his neurotic sensibility 
to his artistic sensibility; 
Woody Allen has done the same. ”

Scott Stossel,
editor of The Atlantic


=^..^=
Cats are excellent
confidantes and
soul healers.


                              > <  }  }  ( ° >


P U K A L A N I

The sky cleared blue
As I found the clearing.
Drought functionally over,
Stream bed pranced
Delighting clear waters.

The covering over
Bottomless Well of Sorrows
Had thinned precipitously
For weeks.

Whew! I had forgotten
That foetid smell,
Seductive miasmas of
Despair.

Sooner or later it
Always closes back up.
The Smell dissipates
(Hallelujah)

Eventually the site is forgotten
Best forgotten
But for this one shit-crusted gem
That I sacrificed ages ago.

I had forgotten all about
This piece of myself;
Look! It still fits!
Bringing wholeness and insight.

So even the Bottomless Well of Sorrows
Carries gifts of sorts.
Glad the Holidays are completing
Springtime lambs of my heart are bleating.

Spoiled and chastened I go on,
Bump Bump
On these funny stairs.
                                                cloudia
Note: In Hawaiian
 'Puka' is a hole
'Lani' means heaven.
There is a place in Maui
called Pukalani because
the geography causes 
a sunny spot there
despite surrounding clouds.

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Sunday, December 29, 2013

Obama's Hawaii: Ko`olau Mountains to Kawai Nui Marsh

A   L   O   H   A  !

 Nu`uanu Street
 in Downtown Honolulu
Rises into the
Becoming the Pali Highway.









Near Queen Emma's Summer Palace

" Every truth 
has two sides; 
it is as well to 
look at both, 
before we 
commit ourselves 
to either. "

Aesop 











 Kailua Town, Windward O`ahu 
I wish you could hear
the birds, waterfowl,
gently lapping waters,
and the breezes.











Yes, the Obama family
 is vacationing in Kailua.
If you paddle down this marsh
toward the beach,
you will meet Navy seals
before you get to see the Coast Guard cutter
and the other armed vessels lurking 
out of sight near the First Family's
 beach-front resting place.

The Obamas RENT the property.
There is no family compound.

Barack grew up in rental and
UH faculty housing.

During High School years,
 he lived in a modest apartment
(walking distance from here)
with his grandmother "Toot"
and WWII vet grandfather,
 Stanley.
Stanley Dunham is buried
National Memorial Cemetery
of the Pacifc (Military)
(Below)
Punchbowl, Above Honolulu








Resting Place of Heroes

“ The most powerful
 weapon on earth 
is the human soul 
on fire. ”

Ferdinand Foch



=^..^=
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                        Warmly, cloudia

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Judgement - No Towel

A   L   O   H   A  !
Sorry guys, Heh Heh

  "Do not wait
 for extraordinary 
circumstances 
to do good; 
try to use 
ordinary situations."

Jean Paul Richter 








" -a writer is working 
when he's staring
 out of the window. "

Burton Rascoe  






 Enjoying Waikiki 

" All my life through, 
the new sights of Nature
 made me rejoice
 like a child. "

 Marie Curie





At one time or another
we have all been
Judgmental.

Or others
have been
regarding Us.

Imagine!

It's the "-tal"
that we don't like.

We each must decide
which judgments
we value,
and which
to resent.

But in some shape or fashion
Sooner or later
Each of us stands
Before Truth.

Reasons are teased
Apart from
 Rationalizations.

Call it Karma,
Conscience,
or the throne of
God.

The closer you are standing
Now
Into your best Truth,
The more familiar
Heaven will Be.

Therethen
All the little 
Unknowns,
Self Deceptions and
Unpenetrated Blind Spots
Will be as
Pretty Packages on a
Birthday Morn!

Each selected just for 
You
By an 
All Comprehending
Wisdom.

Home at last

Again.



=^..^=
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                                 Warmly, cloudia


Friday, December 27, 2013

Duets With Silence

A   L   O   H   A  
Flower Duet by Lakme on Grooveshark


 Holiday Parade

  " Poets have been 

mysteriously silent 

on the subject of 

cheese."

G. K. Chesterton 










 Charade Crepuscular

   " To send light

 into the darkness 

of men's hearts - 

such is the duty 

of the artist."


Robert Schumann










Self Portrait

" Behind every failure

 is an opportunity

 somebody wishes 

they had missed. "


Lily Tomlin 





 "Self-portraiture 
is something 
one should never 
get involved in, 
since it is wrong to lie 
even though one endeavours 
to tell the truth."

Ingmar Bergman 

There is no

self portrait

of me. "

Gustav Klimt

=^..^=    <>[}:{]<>   <[(-'.'-)]>



Dear Dear Friends
The Days Have Grown
Short-

But I have it on
Good Authority
That the 
Tide Has
Turned-

In more ways than one.

Keep the spark
A`Sparkling!

Keep Hope Alive;

And Toast Unburnt!

All things great
AND SMALL
Are Grist for the Mill
of the Will O The Wisp - 

Until we smile together again;  
                                                          Your Fond cloudia

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Free Time

A  L  O  H  A !
" What then is freedom?
 The power to live 
as one wishes. "

Marcus Tullius Cicero 







"We are very far 
from always knowing 
our own wishes."

Francois de La Rochefoucauld 













" The opposite
 of a great truth
 is also true.” 

 Niels Bohr



=^..^=
' Take Peace & Smiles - Leave Your Comment '
Thanks for visiting!
                   Warmly, cloudia