A Timless Piece

Magpie Tales#41

By kindness of Willow on  Magpie Tales

There you stand

Against the wall

Watching

As life goes on

You are ancient

Tall beech antique

Useless

Past your prime

Long heavy pendulum

Swings no more

Chimes

Have gone silent

Once standing proud

As masters checked

Fobs

By your accuracy

Suddenly hands stopped

On Roman eleven

Coincidence

Or event unseen?

In your face

Cracks and lines

Aged

Dull and yellow

No auction room

Will you see

Timeless

But handed down

Busy lives abound

Without a glance

Knowing

The imposing fixture

Lavender polished always

With loving care

Respected

For service rendered

Barbara M Lake

November 2010

Russian Winter

I have just finished reading 'Russian Winter'.  Daphne Kalotay's first novel is a page turner!

If you are interested in history, poetry, the ballet, music and a read that describes Stalinist aggression whilst interweaving past in Iron Curtain Russia with present day Boston, I recommend this exquisite read which is set against the perfection of ballet. A tale of passion, intrigue, hardship, love and fear with wonderful details including the behind-the-scenes activities in the Bolshoi and the rigidness of post war Soviet Russia.

When Nina Revskaya decides to put her stunning jewel collection into the hands of a Boston auction house, nothing can prepare her for the turn of events that will take her back to those days before defection.


Harper Collins. April 2010 


I actually have an Advance Readers Edition which was not for sale.  Strange to see books before they reach the final publishing.  How did I get it?  A local bookstore recently opened a branch in out area and with every purchase, a book of choice was given away.  This was not my first choice.
I had my eye on She- Wolves: the Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor but a woman picked it up even though I remarked very loudly that it was only ONE book per purchase - she had four!! Not to say what her two sons had! So I ended up with this on my daughter's 'instruction'. After she read it she said it was a 'must' for me. She was right. Am an avid history reader.

If you find a copy  treat yourself  - I don't think you'll be disappointed!

Silent Pain

Mag  40 

 

 

I sweep my mane upward  

As you place the jewels

Around my throat

Snapping the dull gold clasp

Tightly shut

Gentle lips

Merely brushing my neck

And moving

To the crook of my arm

                                            

Deep dark eyes are yours                                                    

Cold as the black pearls

Against my skin

Icy lips touching my body

No feeling

Only contempt

For me and what I have done

But refusing

To let me go in peace     

I think of you as the monkey

Moulded in a tarnished clasp

Holding me forever

In a loveless sadistic grip

Your cruelty

And punishment

Covered by a gift of pearls

Silent torture

Is this what I deserve?

                                         

Barbara M Lake  ©   
November 2010                  

 

 

 

Lest We Forget

In Flanders Fields

By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918) Canadian Army

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Being an army brat, I have attended many, many Remembrance Sunday Parades in several countries on various camps. My father was always on parade. I am always struck by that two minute silence because no matter what or where, the traffic and throngs always come comes to a complete standstill. The eeriness, especially on a cold, English November morning, makes it always seems to me, that the entire world has stopped.

Old soldiers never die
They simply fade they say
Is that the price I ask myself
That soldiers have to pay?

Bugle notes and drum beat
Flash of sun on brass
He hears the call as comrades all
Tramp the long march past

Warriors fading quickly
Like a weak pale winter sun
Bowed and creeping slowly
Life's race is all but run

The red poppy leaves are wrinkled
One by one they fall
Soldier, can you answer still
When the bugle notes do call

Play the music gently
No harsh notes sound, I ask
For the poppy leaves are falling
Glory days now past

LONDON, UK THIS MORNING - 7 NOVEMBER 2010

In memory: The Queen lays a wreath at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday

The Cenotaph in London's Whitehall where thousands of veterans marched past the memorial

Let us never forget
and
let us educate our children so that they know never to forget

From My Perch

Mag # 39   

Just when I thought things had settled down, once again they've rounded up all my birds!

And now here comes the truck. The truck onto which my beauties will be loaded.  I can see out of the corner of my eye that four have escaped and are trying to get back to me. Just look at them running amok - talk about headless chicken syndrome! 

Amid much squawking and clucking they're all finally on the truck, crammed together in those horrible wire cages. I can't look. I can hear the truck pulling out of the yard and as always, the noise is deafening.  But that will recede as the truck disappears into the distance.

I suppose the next time I see a red and white striped bucket with a white bearded, happy man decorating the side being delivered to the big house, it could contain a part of one of my chicks. Imagine that -  a past chick's leg and thigh or breast even, being served up in a bucket with sides of French fries, cole slaw and a biscuit.  She may even be hotter and  spicier than when she was with me!

So as I sit on my perch thinking about the next batch of young chicks that will soon join me in my coop I have to say that although such a varied love life sounds exciting, it does become tiresome after a while. After all, this old rooster ain't getting any younger.

I do wish I hadn't been hatched in Kentucky!

Barbara M Lake 2010

Divali - Festival of Lights

Tomorrow, Friday 5 November is the Hindu Festival of Divali otherwise known as the Festival of Lights which celebrates light over dark, good over evil.

Divali was first brought to Trinidad by Hindu indentured labourers in 1845 and is a five day festival. The word Divali itself means "row of lights" During the festival homes are completely cleaned and windows are opened to welcome Lakshmi , the goddess of wealth. Lamps are lit as a greeting to Lakshmi, gifts are given and festive meals are prepared.

The climax of Divali is the lighting of deyas after sundown - a delightful experience that should never be missed. In yards, open spaces, staircases, roundabouts and porches, deyas are lit by the thousands.

They are also placed on bamboo stalks bent into fantastic shapes and designs. In villages where there is a strong Hindu presence it is common to see whole streets decorated in this manner.

Bamboo bending is an absolute art in itself and it takes hours to produce the beautiful designs.  The men normally work in teams to create the centre pieces for the festival.  In today's Trinidad Guardian newspaper according to one team leader, Boodram “Gable” Bissoondial, "one of the first things is to start with the end in mind."  Meaning what you want the product to look like when completed.

Bamboo is not just bamboo. One has to choose the bamboo very carefully. For “road way” bamboo designs (bamboo lengths running parallel to each other placed on short stubs), Gable noted that you need to choose long lengths of bamboo that are not very wide in width. He said, "for bamboo that would form “rose designs,” you need to consider width more than length, since you have to split that type of bamboo into eight pieces.

Safety is of major importance when bamboo bending. According to Gable, there is no need for "fancy-fancy" (local expression) tools, just the need for rolls of wire and two-and-a-half inch nails, with hammer in hand. The pieces of bamboo must be tacked down to ensure they don't fall out causing harm to anyone and the edges of the bamboo have to be shaved so that no one can be scratched. Unshaven bamboo can be painful!

The following is taken from Worldpress.org and written by Dr. Kumar Mahabir (October 14, 2009)

Divali is the defining event that marks Trinidad as a multi-religious, multi-ethnic society with Hindus comprising the second largest religious group (24 percent) after Roman Catholics in the twin-island population of 1.3 million people. While Divali is essentially a Hindu festival, people of all faiths actively join in celebrating the triumph of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil. Non-Hindu adherents are attracted to the festival's universal message as well as to the extravaganza that is not only unique but also provides a clean environment for the cultivation of a healthy body, mind and soul.
Nowhere else in the world do non-Hindus and non-Indians actively take part in the lighting of over 10 million deyas on a single night in the year. These tiny clay lamps are lit in homes, yards, streets, offices, public parks and playing fields. It is perhaps only in Trinidad that one can find split bamboo tubes transformed into magnificent works of art on which the deyas are placed. The split bamboo strips reach out toward neighboring houses, streets and communities to symbolize the popular local mantra "all ah we is one."

To all my Hindu friends and all who will be celebrating, Shubh Divali

All Souls and A Birthday

All Soul's Day is a Roman Catholic day of remembrance for friends and loved ones who have passed away.  It is celebrated on 2 November, or if it falls on a Sunday. on the 3 November.  The Office of the Dead must be recited by the clergy at all Masses and those Masses are to be Requiem. 

The theological basis for the feast is the doctrine that  those souls which leave the body not perfectly cleansed, or have not fully atoned for past sins cannot yet see God.  Those left on earth can apparently help these souls by praying for them, giving alms and offering Masses which will help in their release from Purgatory.

There are many customs and rituals followed in various countries. In Trinidad, the cemeteries and grave yards are cleaned up in the days leading up to All Souls.  Relatives normally visit the family graves on the 1 November (All Saints) to pimp and preen for the following day.


Today many families will go to their family plots or single plots, gather round and even bring picnic baskets.  Tonight every non-forgotten grave will be lit up by candles so that the cemetery will just, for one night of the year, be bathed in candle light.  It would be nice to think that the visitors will put candles on the forgotten graves as well.  I think it's as well to remember that not all graves that appear to be  'forgotten', actually are.  Circumstances don't always allow for people to visit.


I like the customs of some European countries where a candle is burning at the grave continuously as it was for my Austrian grandmother. Sadly there is no one left to burn the candle but I know the cemetery keepers do tend to keep the flame alight.  Then there are the countries where the grave has a photo of the deceased with the burning candle.


It would seem that this day of remembrance comes from the ancient Pagan Festival of the Dead.  The Pagan belief is that the souls of the dead return for a meal with the family (hence the picnic baskets??)  Candles in the window would guide the souls back home and another place was set at the table.  Children would come through the village asking for food to be offered symbolically to the dead, then donated to feed the hungry.

The Christian  origins of the day have been attributed to various religious orders - some say the Cluny Order, others the Benedictines.  If it was started by St Odilo of Cluny  at the Cluny Abbey in France, the tradition is 1012 years old.  Other monasteries throughout France adopted  the tradition and it quickly spread throughout the western church.  It was only in the 14th century that this day was officially recognized by Rome.

So when I go home this evening I will light candles by the photos of my parents.  I do this on birthdays, anniversaries and sometimes just on any day that I feel like it.

And when we have said a prayer and blown out the candle, we will light the candles on my husband's birthday cake and give thanks for his life as he goes rushing into another decade with guns blazing.  He  thinks he's still twenty!!!