Enga mellom fjella

Dying in Montana. Imprisonment in Iran.

For those of you who know nothing of prisons, take a moment and think of what that would mean to be imprisoned physically and/or emotionally.

In Iran there is a notorious prison, Evin, where many have been jailed, tortured, executed or released (after months or years) with no reason given. At the moment there are members of my religious community imprisoned there and these videos seem appropriate:

A very "dark" black/white manga style portrait of the situation in Persian and English:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6KbwcH5gK4

A very "light" colorful and uplifting dance. I'm almost sure that the prison represented is in Akka, Israel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnLfm5ipngo

Translation of the above song:

Weeks elapsed
And the dove laughs at the cage
Months have gone
And the dove laughs at the cage
Years, even if for years
This bondage remains
Again and again
This dove will assuredly
Laugh at the cage

An effusion has entered
This prison
From the Unseen Tabernacle
It intoxicates this dove
And at the cage
It laughs!

Wish I would've written that verse.

Dying in Montana

It's all in the dying of self:
the one who cannot see himself in another,
the one who cannot see himself.
They fire on each other out of fear,
fire first
before the other fires back.
Both die in a way.
One dies today;
the other lives to die some other day,
never forgetting the life he took.
What's not freed in the taking:
his self and his self,
their self and our self.
Not one remains free except the selfless.

© 2009 Kåre Enga [165.465] 2009-03-04

"released from the prison of self" was the prompt. After watching the videos and finding an appropriate quote for this blog entry, I wrote the above. A recent killing here also crept into my thoughts. I like the flow of the poem, but not quite sure how to say what I want.

Blah-blah-blah:

Well I got to Wild Mercy on Monday and spoke with Bryce Andrews about a poem I wrote, "Meeting Moses", which is in response to his talk of the previous week about meeting one particular bull. He has a stunning photograph of the two of them leaning into each other: Andrew's hand, Moses' head. Need to edit and write more. Want to get it to him and then maybe submit to Camas. Their deadline is March 15th.

Tuesday meant stopping at the library and picking up more books by Erin Hunter. The other day I scored a free copy of Sue Grafton's T is for Trespass.

I've enjoyed the mild weather. We got into the high 40s and even hit 52. I saw 4 crocuses in bloom by the cop-shop! Cold weather returns this week, but the break was nice and daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are showing off some green.

MILLSTONES and MILESTONES:

My dad was buried on March 2nd, 1999. So todirsa's tribute to his mother, who just died at the age of 91 (born about a year after my father) struck me as wonderful and worthy of sharing: "Invalid Entry" 

This portrait is also worth viewing: http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/Portrait-Rep-Shirley-Chisholm-unveiled/ss/events/p...

I remember Shirley Chisholm well and can hear her unique voice in my mind. The gesture is also iconic. She paved the way for many!

BLOGVILLE

I'm going to try a black and blue month (entering a blog every other day) I'm curious as to how that will work out, both statistically and in freeing me up to do other writing.

By blogging every day for a Blue February, I got 1,203 views (~40/day); never had 0 except for the day the site-wide view-counter was not working. About 300 were non-WDC views. This tells me a lot, but I'll let you-all come to your own conclusions.

Quote for the Day

"When one is released from the prison of self, that is indeed release, for that is the greater prison.
When this release takes place, then one cannot be outwardly imprisoned." ~‘Abdu’l-Bahá

entire passage

“Freedom is not a matter of place. It is a condition. I was thankful for the prison, and the lack of liberty was very pleasing to me, for those days were passed in the path of service, under the utmost difficulties and trials, bearing fruits and results.

“Unless one accepts dire vicissitudes, he will not attain. To me prison is freedom, troubles rest me, death is life, and to be despised is honour. Therefore, I was happy all that time in prison. When one is released from the prison of self, that is indeed release, for that is the greater prison. When this release takes place, then one cannot be outwardly imprisoned. When they put my feet in stocks, I would say to the guard, ‘You cannot imprison me, for here I have light and air and bread and water. There will come a time when my body will be in the ground, and I shall have neither light nor air nor food nor water, but even then I shall not be imprisoned.’ The afflictions which come to humanity sometimes tend to centre the consciousness upon the limitations, and this is a veritable prison. Release comes by making of the will a Door through which the confirmations of the Spirit come.”

‘Abdu’l-Bahá in London, page 120, "The Release"

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Montana: 38º at 11:00

12,667