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.

' Take Peace & Smiles - Leave Your Comment '
Thanks for visiting!



27 comments:

Rajesh said...

Wonderful images.

the walking man said...

It is good you found a hidden gem within but if there had never been knowledge of despair it would simply be another stone.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Christina Rosetti - and one of my favourite quotations Cloudia - and true.

eViL pOp TaRt said...

Such a wonderful poem, and a wonderful quotation by Christina Rossetti

Joop Zand said...

Very nice pictures....i like that second one Cloudia....and you know why.

Greetings, Joop

ayala said...

Beautiful. I want to wish you a Happy New Year :)

Akelamalu said...

Lovely poem my friend. x

TexWisGirl said...

i love that first quote. as we turn the calendar page, a good one to try for.

PerthDailyPhoto said...

Goodness me I've missed your way with words mon amie.. I love Woody Allen and yes he is the epitome of neurosis :)) So you've had some VIP's visiting, I should imagine it would be wonderful for the Obama's to holiday in familiar beautiful Hawaii ..

Brian Miller said...

i will endeavor to live a bit more absurdly then....smiles...ha...i like the finding of the shit covered gem as well...and the realization it still fits...

aloha from va....

Myrna R. said...

What a good poem - full of meaning and beautifully written. It's good to live in absurdity - I think we all do, even if we don't realize it.
Have a Happy New Year!!!

Cloudia said...

Gee, glad I shared the poem I wrote yesterday!

I'm blown away that folks I respect praise my unschooled verse.

Wouldn't it be great to hear what Dave King would say?

Love you, my friends ♥

Elephant's Child said...

Love your poem. And love even more to hear that you are also thinking of Dave King. Hugs.

Other Mary said...

Grat pics and quotes. I really should stop by more often; I always enjoy your blog. Happy New Year C.

ifthethunderdontgetya™³²®© said...

Cats are excellent
confidantes and
soul healers.


Yes, I've had two in my life and this is true.
~

Adam said...

great quotes

Cloudia said...

Thanks much, pals

Anonymous said...

Okay, I had to study this a bit. I've finally learned how to remember and smile about the good stuff instead of remembering so much pain.
Be sure and wash off the shit-crusted gem before reclaiming it, but I think that's part of the process: hammer through the hardened crap to get to the good stuff, much like breaking open a geode from the rock store.
I'm still a dog person.
Aloha, DrumMajor

Barbara Martin said...

The meaning of PukaLani resonates with the coming New Year. May yours be blessed and full of joy, health, peace and love.

Pallavi said...

Beautiful images dear Cloudia :) Happy new year to you!

Anonymous said...

What beautiful sky shots! Wishing you a magical year ahead.

Kay said...

Lovely, Cloudia. I guess I'm glad I have such a poor memory then so that I can smile. :-)

Hattie said...

I am loving your book. It makes me feel a lot more in tune with Hawaii to read it. It's easy to take this special place for granted.
Have a Happy New Year!

Cloudia said...

So good to see you and your comments. Thanks friends

Bob Bushell said...

Have a happy new year in 2014, I love your layout Cloudia.

kaykuala said...

Great pics as always Cloudia! Wonderful quotes, longer this time!

Hank

Tolga said...

wishing you a happy & peaceful new year :)