Waiting for the Sun

Sunset in Northfield, MN. May 2011

“The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible.” Vladimir Nabokov

It has been raining for nearly a week. Perhaps in a moment of hopefulness, I sat by the window in the library today, hoping that the sun would peak out for a moment and I might smile in its light. It did. Sometimes life is just that good, one asks and receives. For times when I am waiting, I like to reflect on the Nabokov quote above.

Because it is nearly Valentine's Day. . .

and oysters are said-to-be an aphrodisiac, my favorite quote from A Moveable Feast:

"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans."
--Ernest Hemingway

PS. I will begin writing again this week. Finally.

.

"We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for."

John Keating The Dead Poets Society

Between the Pages III-- Of Love and Shadows by Isabel Allende

“All you will have is the present. Waste no energy crying over yesterday or dreaming of tomorrow. Nostalgia is fatiguing and destructive, it is the vice of the expatriate. You must put down roots as if they were forever, you must have a sense of permanence” (278).

Chilean author and Los Angeles resident Allende tells a tale of romance, political upheaval, and desaparecidos. Allende's command of language is mesmerizing. A quick read that pulls you into a land of passion and pain. Just as enjoyable as her compilation Stories of Eva Luna, Allende's House of Spirits is now on my reading list.

“The fragrance of the fresh herbs and spices she used for seasoning stews and fried potato cakes always lingered on the air, the mouth-watering harmony of sprigs of rosemary, bay leaves, garlic cloves, and onions melding with the more subtle fragrance of cinnamon, clove, vanilla, anise, and chocolate used in baking breads and cakes.” (211).

“Supported by the rough trunk, they sat in silence, without touching, but so united in their feelings they might have been cradled in a single womb.” (120)

“Through sleepless nights they told each other the stories of their lives. There was no memory from the past, no dream of the present, no plan for the future that they did not share. They surrendered all their secrets; going beyond the physical, they abandoned their souls to one another.” (257).

“Finally dawn came. Light spread like a flower of fire and slowly the darkness receded. The sky cleared and the blinding beauty of the landscape materialized before their eyes like the birth of a new world. They roused themselves, shook the frost from their blankets, stretched their stiff arms and legs, and drank the remaining liquor to restore their circulation.” (289).

Click here to hear Allende's talk on TED Ideas Worth Spreading: "Isabel Allende tells Tales of Passion"

.

"When in doubt, opt for the bolder approach"

Cristina García, A Handbook to Luck