i remember how the water slipped & slid & tumbled down the black rocks. when it reached the bottom of the falls, it raced along the river banks and careened around the bend as if it were late for a date with its beloved friend the sea.

the light that afternoon was like an indulgent smile bestowed on a dearly beloved child.

what i mean by that is: the light didn’t try to stop the river; the light didn’t admonish the river for hurrying; the light simply watched the river run and loved it more than anything.

“Walk on air against your better judgement.”

~ Seamus Heaney

sometimes, when the wind blows just right, a crack in the world opens.

if you’re paying close attention in that moment, you might catch a glimpse of fairyland.

“Do not say, ‘It is morning,’ and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a newborn child that has no name.”

~ Rabindranath Tagore

this time of year, i often think about the people who are lonely or alone or going through a rough patch. i think about how hard this season must be for them. not only are their lives hard, but they are surrounded by the assumption that they should feel merry & bright, that they should be spending time with a loving family, that their lives should be easy & joyous.

i also think about the people who don’t celebrate anything at all, or who celebrate a less conventional holiday, and can be left feeling uncomfortable & unwelcome.

if this is you, i am holding you in my heart. i wish i could wave a magic wand and make december a little easier on you.

whether you celebrate this season or not, may your december hold moments of peace & comfort.

“God, or the gods, are invisible, quite
understandable. But holiness is visible,
entirely.”

~ Mary Oliver, in “Leaves and Blossoms Along the Way”

it is so beautiful in the woods right now that all i can say is “look! look! look!!!”

fortunately, there are people who can express themselves much better than i can.

“Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love – that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one’s very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is a perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”

~ George Eliot, Letters to Miss Eliot

“my very soul is wedded to [autumn]”. is that not the most delightful sentiment? i echo it wholeheartedly.

“Autumn … the year’s last, loveliest smile.”

~ William Cullen Bryant

“In summer, the song sings itself.”

~ William Carlos Williams

{an extremely irregular series comprised of visual definitions}

nepenthe

noun ne·pen·the \nə-ˈpen(t)-thē\

1 : a potion used by the ancients to induce forgetfulness of pain or sorrow

2 : something capable of causing oblivion of grief or suffering

(definition courtesy of merriam-webster)

the story behind the series.

i am in the middle of one hundred names for love by diane ackerman. it is full of beautiful (& seldom used) words. naturally, it has me thinking a lot about language.

of course there are good reasons to write simply, to use simple words to convey complex ideas, to consider the language knowledge of your readers. once upon a time, i taught people how to do this. at the same time, there is something wonderful about using all the words we have available to us. it makes me sad to think of words just sitting there .. waiting .. growing dusty & unused & then simply forgotten.

since i love language, and i love to pair things, these visual definitions are my way of paying tribute to the words i love.