{"id":45,"date":"2008-02-14T17:18:32","date_gmt":"2008-02-15T01:18:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/niasomoves.com\/Rachaelsblog\/2008\/02\/14\/happy-valentines-day-happy-life\/"},"modified":"2009-01-29T20:51:34","modified_gmt":"2009-01-30T04:51:34","slug":"happy-valentines-day-happy-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/happy-valentines-day-happy-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy Valentine’s Day, Happy Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was my friend Judyth Hill’s birthday. \u00a0Here is the poem she sent out to celebrate. \u00a0I read it at the end of class today.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>This year I am declaring my birthday:
\n Fall Madly in Love Day!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Sigh deeply! \u00a0Remember how great this is? \u00a0Go on a wild date!<\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Be instantly on a fabulous adventure! An exotic vacation!
\n Why not? \u00a0It\u2019s our day! \u00a0It\u2019s our life!<\/p>\n

Stay Home & Get away! \u00a0Spend the day in bed! \u00a0In your garden!
\n Wear something gorgeous! \u00a0Velvets! \u00a0Silks! \u00a0Topless!
\n Do what you wish! \u00a0Sleep! \u00a0Lollygag! \u00a0Loaf! \u00a0Lounge!
\n Feed Birds! \u00a0Swim! \u00a0Tango & tangle! \u00a0Day dream!
\n Find yummy hot water & loll joyously about for hours!
\n Read all day, eating dark chocolate bonbons & moan in pleasure!
\n Walk into deep woods! \u00a0Sing loud! \u00a0Dance for the nuthatches!
\n See 3 movies & eat buttered popcorn! \u00a0Procrastinate!
\n Make Prayers for Peace & and cuddle up close!
\n Go to Work & Be at Play! \u00a0Make Amends!
\n Go where you\u2019ve always wanted!
\n Macchu Pichu? \u00a0Morocco? \u00a0Your back porch? \u00a0My room?
\n Mozambique? \u00a0Denali? \u00a0Chaco? \u00a0Altai?<\/p>\n

Have espresso & chocolat biscotti at the caf\u00e9 just to the west of San Marcos\u2026dunk and dream\u2026
\n If your morning is booked,
\n try a gondola in moonlight, rich, old wine and so many kisses\u2026
\n Aren\u2019t the Cubs playing somewhere we could go?
\n A picnic at the Bosque at dawn, kergillion cranes wheeling overhead?\u00a0 Snowgeese & Merganzers\u2026
\n Hot chocolate and green chile cheeseburgers after?
\n Sushi on a balcony overlooking your life,
\n in gratitude for every blessed second?
\n A chance to say I love you one more time?
\n And have it said back?
\n Say it again and again! \u00a0Aren\u2019t our hearts so full! \u00a0Whew!
\n A luxurious nap with a thick blankie, Assam tea with cream?
\n More Kisses?
\n Hot bath, scented rose geranium, reading Neruda? \u00a0Aloud!
\n Coltrane and Ella and Billie and Bob Dylan?
\n Snow in the high country, Waves rolling in on Cabo,
\n silver bracelets, satiny avocados, tart Margaritas?<\/p>\n

You Are Invited! \u00a0You are My Guest!
\n Come to my Party Today! \u00a0Maybe Now!
\n Come as You Are! \u00a0How else could you be?
\n Don\u2019t worry if you are Late \u2013 Come as you were!
\n If you are Early \u2013 Come as you will be!
\n It\u2019s all in my heart for us! \u00a0Just be here! \u00a0Or there! \u00a0Now!
\n And know I Love you Best, let\u2019s be thrillingly, heartbeating wild in love\u2026with each other and this deliriously good world,
\n today & today & today & today.<\/p>\n

\u00a0– Judyth Hill<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
Judyth Hill is a stand-up poet, author of six published books of poems, and a teacher of poetry, living, in amazed and grateful beauty, where the Rockies meet the Plains in northern New Mexico. \u00a0Her website is\u00a0www.rockmirth.com<\/a>. Here is her famous poem, Wage Peace.<\/em><\/div>\n
\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Wage Peace<\/strong><\/em><\/div>\n
September 11, 2001<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
Wage peace with your breath.<\/div>\n
Breathe in firemen and rubble,\u00a0<\/div>\n
\n

breathe out whole buildings and flocks of red wing blackbirds.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Breathe in terrorists
\n and breathe out sleeping children and freshly mown fields.\u00a0<\/div>\n
Breathe in confusion and breathe out maple trees.<\/div>\n

Breathe in the fallen and breathe out lifelong friendships intact.<\/p>\n

Wage peace with your listening: hearing sirens, pray loud.<\/p>\n

Remember your tools: flower seeds, clothes pins, clean rivers.<\/p>\n

Make soup.<\/p>\n

Play music, memorize the words for thank you in three languages.<\/p>\n

Learn to knit, and make a hat.<\/div>\n

Think of chaos as dancing raspberries,<\/p>\n

Imagine grief
\n as the outbreath of beauty or the gesture of fish.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Swim for the other side.<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
Wage peace.<\/div>\n
Never has the world seemed so fresh and precious:<\/div>\n
\n

Have a cup of tea and rejoice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Act as if armistice has already arrived.
\n Celebrate today.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em><\/div>\n
— Judyth Hill<\/em><\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n


<\/p>\n


<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was my friend Judyth Hill’s birthday. \u00a0Here is the poem she sent out to celebrate. \u00a0I read it at the end of class today. \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ongoing-nia-classes","category-poem-of-the-week"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":279,"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45\/revisions\/279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/synergy-pt.net\/niablog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}