Reflecting...

Just Thinking

RF Hoak

Just sitting here and thinking, friend

And wondering how it would be

If I had not known you at all

And you had not met me.

All things we've shared would then be lost, 

The smiles and heartaches, too - 

The world would be a dreary place

If I had not known you.

But these fond memories through the years

All the fun times, too.

Just make me thankful you know me

And glad that I know you.

I received the above poem today from my neighbor, church leader, and friend, Kathryn Wardle, who is moving with her cute family to Boise, Idaho at the end of this week.
I love it, because it voices exactly what I've been feeling of late. So many people in my life are moving away, or going on missions, or taking different paths, and it's so strange.

People I've known almost my entire life.
People I've met along the journey thus far.
People I've only just met.
People I never got to know very well.
People I wish I'd introduced myself to.
People I admired from afar...
There are people from each category that I will never see again.
It's so weird.
And so sad.
And so scary.
Because so many of you are taking a different path than mine, I want to thank all of the people I've known these past seventeen and a half years.

All of you have changed me.
Impacted my life in some way.
Some lifted me up.
Some put me down.
But whether you befriended me,
hurt me,
complimented me,
spurned me,
loved me,
or hated me...
Every one of you helped me to grow into the person that I am today.
And for that, I thank you.

Cambian silencio por silencio... Happy Valentine's Day.

Last night I had the wonderful pleasure of listening the Salt Lake Choral Artists, conducted by Dr. Brady Allred, perform selected pieces by my very favorite contemporary choral music composer, Eric Whitacre, in Libby Gardner Hall. It was positively incredible! They are an extremely talented group of individuals, and the music... The music is amazing. 

My post today is a poem by Octavio Paz called A Boy and a Girl. Eric Whitacre set the translation to music, and I do believe it's my new favorite of his works. You can listen to that here. Also, take note of Eric Whitacre's fantastic hair. ;)

[Los Novios]

Tendidos en la yerba
una muchacha y un muchacho.
Comen naranjas, cambian besos
como las olas cambian sus espumas.

Tendido en la playa
una muchacha y un muchacho.
Comen limones, cambian besos
como las nubes cambian espumas.

Tendidos bajo tierra
una muchacha y un muchacho.
No dicen nada, no se besan,
cambian silencio por silencio.

[A Boy and a Girl]

Stretched out on the grass,
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their oranges,
giving their kisses like waves exchanging foam.

Stretched out on the beach,
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their limes,
giving their kisses like clouds exchanging foam.

Stretched out underground,
a boy and a girl.
Saying nothing, never kissing,
giving silence for silence.

That last line just gives me chills... 

I love what this implies- Even death does not stop true love.

A tribute from a great man to another great man. :)

O Captain! My Captain!

Walt Whitman

O Captain my Captain! our fearful trip is done;

The ship has weathered every rack, the prize we sought is won;

The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,

While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:

But O heart! heart! heart!

O the bleeding drops of red,

Where on the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

O Captain! my Captain! rise up and hear the bells;

Rise up—for you the flag is flung—for you the bugle trills;

For you bouquets and ribboned wreaths—for you the shores a-crowding;

For you they call, the swaying mass, their eager faces turning;

Here Captain! dear father!

This arm beneath your head;

It is some dream that on the deck,

You’ve fallen cold and dead.

My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;

My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;

The ship is anchored safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;

From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;

Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!

But I, with mournful tread,

Walk the deck my Captain lies,

Fallen cold and dead.

This poem gives me the chills every time I read it.  I think that it's wonderful. :) I first heard it in the Robin Williams movie "Dead Poet's Society" - one of my favorite movies of all time. Walt Whitman wrote it in response to the death of Abraham Lincoln and the end of the Civil War. I have so much respect for what Abraham Lincoln did for our country. He was such an incredible example of what God wants us to do with our lives. For Whitman to recognize that like this... It's touching, I think. You can feel his respect through the words. Definitely one of my favorites. But then... I say that about all of them. :)

Be yours to hold it high....

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae

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.

I was introduced to this poem through A'Capella last year, when we sang the words put to music by Paul A. Aitken. It's an incredible song. Anyway, it's about the fields in Flanders, Belgium, where many World War I battles were fought, notably the 3 battles of Ypres. After the thousands of casualties of Ypres, millions of red poppies sprang up, which are immortalized in this poem, and have become a symbol for lives lost through war. Powerful background to a beautiful poem. :)

Take that, menace of the years.

Invictus 

 William Ernest Henley (1849-1903)

Out of the night that covers me,

Black as the Pit from pole to pole,

I thank whatever gods may be

For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance

I have not winced nor cried aloud.

Under the bludgeonings of chance

My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears

Looms but the Horror of the shade,

And yet the menace of the years

Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul. 

I was introduced to this poem last week by my awesome friend, Spencer Kersh. It's his favorite poem... It's definitely one of my new favorites. :) It's super empowering, as well as... I don't know.... Almost chilling. Aaand... There's my inner nerd comin' out. :)