My husband is an optimist manque
He eats porridge oats made from clay.
Then he spends all day long
In the bathroom, in song.
It’s so good to know when he is gay.
I am an optimist too.
I fasten my mind up with glue
I don’t want to change it
Nor even rearrange it.
With cliches’tis crudely bestrewed.
In my previous post I said it was not a good idea to use cliches as they are second hand.But prayers or songs are words which have been used many times before.And will go on being used until we blow ourselves up.And fairy tales and stories are also repeated down the generations.
Are these cliches?
With prayers I suppose for ones which are in the liturgy we need something we can all say together.Yet even such a prayer can become a meaningless habit.Similarly we will hear tomorrow hymns about Jesus and the Resurrection;hymns in which we promise to be good,compassionate etc
Then we leave the church and return to our usual mode of life.So being too familiar we do not always hear the prayers or hymns.So in that sense thay have become cliched language which has been emptied of meaning by over-use.
Maybe that’s why Quakers are silent until a person gets a thought they want to share.It is spontaneous.
Some prayers and chants are meant to alter our consciousness.Repeating words is usual in meditation.But unless we want to do it it can be meaningless like saying the rosary may be.It was a trial to me as a child.
In the end we can only reduce the amount of second hand language we use anut d try to look at our loved ones afresh daily.We can’t recreate the world every hour.But maybe we can become more aware of what we say.
http://theeditorsblog.net/2011/01/26/cliches-are-they-really-that-bad/
Every time we look at a person or a tree we see a different vision.But to simplify life we tend to create a fixed image of them in our mind and instead of seeing the person we see this image.I know that is why sometimes people don’t notice when someone else is upset or happy.
The funniest example is from my own life.I used to be extremely thin until I got married.Then I became normal.Unfortunately owing to health issues I then got much bigger.I met a former colleague in the town.She always did have a sharp tongue.When we were discussing clothes she said something nasty to me based on the fact that she believed I was still very thin.So she wasn’t seeing me.
If we can see better we can describe better.But that may mean using new metaphors or other words/sentences.Is it too demanding? If you want to write better you can’t rely on using second hand phrases.They are a way of avoiding seeing.
Even in oral communication we need to avoid them if possible because they are boring.But they are a short cut so that is why we do it.
My new-found hope may be a mere mirage;
Illusion of no help in my despair.
Yet imagination stirs up needed courage
And helps the mind and heart in their repair.
I’ll dwell not in the mind’s relentless thoughts;
I’ll use my eyes and ears and skin
Then i that trap, I never shall be caught.
I’ll see and hear to moderate this din.
In wider focus all will take their place
I’ll focus less on this wound I bear late
And see both good and bad in every space.
So not dismiss the world and all its states.
Changing vision show us truer measures.
Perception valued brings to us much treasure.
1 : an illusion sometimes seen at sea, in the desert, or over hot pavement that looks like a pool of water or a mirror in which distant objects are seen inverted
2 : something illusory and unattainable like a mirage
The members of the caravan thought they spied water ahead, but it turned out to be a mirage.
“Apparently, my [computer science] major lets me magically solve people’s technical problems, even if I haven’t been explicitly trained how to do so. It seems like the field is shrouded in esotericism. That impression, however, is really just a mirage.” — Keshav Tadimeti, The Daily Bruin (University of California, Los Angeles), 8 Feb. 2016
A mirage is a sort of optical illusion, a reflection of light that can trick the mind into interpreting the sight as an apparently solid thing. It makes sense, therefore, that the word mirage has its roots in the concept of vision. Mirage was borrowed into English at the dawn of the 19th century from the French verb mirer (“to look at”), which also gave us the word mirror. Mirer in turn derives from Latin mirari (“to wonder at”). Mirari is also the ancestor of the English words admire, miracle, and marvel, as well as the rare adjective mirific (meaning “marvelous”).
I have no teeth and comb-less I remain.
My hair once silk is now a tangled briar.
Men gaze on me with dumbness and disdain
My crumbling visage lighteth not their fire.
I have no mind and so I cannot think.
I cannot love nor hate now I grow tired.
Yet runs my nose and do my eyes not blink?
Where is a man with care and keen desire?
I have no heart,or it turns cold and hard.
Yet soul I have and spirit and my sight.
At life’s long game I fling down all my cards.
And ask for nothing but a means of flight.
For beauty withers as my wisdom grows.
And none observe the circling of the crows.
If I were a church goer
A really, really keen one
All day long I’d pray and meditate
If I were a very fervent man.
I’d always say my prayers right.
Oh,really, really good
All night long I’d think of my dear friends
If I were that really holy one
I’d get acute insomnia.
Ah,really,really bad.
All day long I’d moan to my dear wife.
If I tried to do what I began.
And then she would just leave me.
Oh, no oh no,oh no!
All day long I’d weep into my soup.
And miss her lovely home made currant jam.
I think I am a zealot.
I really,really do.
All day long I’d scrutinise my sins.
And wonder if I’m caught up with Satan.
I think I’ll stay agnostic
I really see it’s best.
All day long I work and play and sing.
Just like any other lucky man.
I’m really not important.
No,I’m not and nor are you.
All day long we help each other on;
While the women thrash us with their pans.
I guess we ought to help them.
Even that’s not quite p.c.
All day long they say that we should share.
And so today I admit I have begun,
My wife is very zaftig.
Diddly,diddly dom
All day long I sweep and brush her hair.
Because I am a very lustful man.
I say I do this because I come up with a few sentences which can form part of a poem.I really do it because it amuses me.
Here’s a list of some common clichés to look out for and avoid:
Oh,doctor I am in a flap I cannot turn this childproof cap I cannot take my medicine So I shall toss it in the bin The beta blockers make me down I am in a study brown. The mini aspirins make me bruise And my mind is quite confused. The ibuprofen hurt my heart Yet without one I cannot start. The thyroxine has no effect So now I feel my life is dreck. The codeine fails to make me high I'm not addicted, though I try. I'll have to take a shot of gin And alcohol will make me sin. I'll go to parties in a dress That makes men's hormones more or less. I'll take a big one home with me, And give him poison in his tea. And when I am in jail at last I'll feel remorse for all my past. For as I suffer dreadful pain God has hit me yet again. It's not enough that I am blind And suffer terrors in my mind Not enough that lovers cruel Give me stick instead of jewels. Or maybe life does not make sense Especially when I feel so tense. Maybe random are my days and my life has gone astray. I think that I shall buy a cat And love it tenderly and chat. But if my cat gives me a scratch... I'll light its tail up with a match. All the world must me obey Else I'll be enraged all day. I want my own way all the time. Other people must conform. I am here and full of ills What do you think of these blue pills? If they take away my heart That at least will be a start. Then they can remove my brain To help me with this damned pain. Why not kill me right away Then I'll be from pain astray?
My Unwritten Books by George Steiner…I am enjoying this much more than when read his work ten years ago
The Golden Baby by Margaret Drabble…….Good but too similar to all her later works.
How it all began by Penelope Lively…Wonderful like all her books
Windows 10 for Dummies.
On being Certain:Believing you are right when you are not. Robert A Burton
Goodbyte,John.
Flee you soon,Alice.
Take bear,Jude.
See your data,Peter.
Oh.Rev Wire! Simone.
Food be with Hugh,Mary.
See you moon,Annabelle.
What was your flame? Luke.
Love you and deceive you.Andrea.
Hope sings infernal,Hubert.
Leave me a bone,Miriam.
Feed my whole,Dan
See you as soon as risible,Jack.
Hope all is swill,Teresa.
Keep freer,Monty.
All is bare in love and care.Winston.
Fair were you. Dave.
Sorry,I long for Hugh, Queenie.
This is the urinal damned, Barbie.
Love your part, Mamie.
Sever yours,Adam.
You’re a marked plan,Emily.
For whether,Cane.
Come bloom,Anthea.
Ever wine, Solomon
Speak flewn, Nancy.
Air your curries,here. Jocasta.
See you and die,Horace.
I’m unable to repress my gratitude,Moll.
Keep it to your wealth,Mark.
God is my fitness,Luke.
Good right
The most obvious confusion between metaphor and reality is when society labels emotional/interpersonal problems/divergence from norms of society as mental illnesses.In the USA childdhood disobedience is now a mental illness and there are many similar crazy notions.Homosexuality was labelled as a mental illness for years but no longer.
Now if you are suffering terrible anguish in various forms it may help to be told it is an illness… or it may make you worse.I am sure that often excess fatigue,personal characteristics like overworking constantly,not eating well,being distressed by the state of the world are very common but there are no blood tests nor any other tests to identify such as being illnesses.Though often physical illnesses casuse mental distress and depression either directly or because of shame and anxiety and other reactions to being ill for a long time.
The writer Thomas Szasz identified this confusion many years ago.If you disagree and say how can medication help unless a person is ill then I’d say that the placebo effect is one reason and another is that if someone is exhausted and needs to rest then medication maybe helpful to give them a little peace.
Gerard Manley Hopkins,A Jesuit priest and a poet seemed to be given a job in an Irish University which was exhausting and debilitating but owing to his vow of obedience to his superiors in the Jesuit Order he could not change his life except by dying… so he thought.
The poet Gwyneth Lewis who has been the National Poet for wales wrote a book[Sunbathing in the rain] about her severe bout of depression.In the book she seems to be claiming that there were personal mistakes and decisions in her lifestyle and job which led her into depression.She saw it as necessary for change.However she did use medication in spite of feeling it was a spiritual turning poimt which she needed to get back onto her true path or vocation in life.
Her mother had been depressed frequently when she was a child and so she would have learned by this as a way of problem solving.
Also despite her immense intelligence she had failed to realise that abandoning her strong hopes to have a child [given the age of her husband and the need to earn a living] was going to cause her huge distress.In fact marrying someone who has been sterilised seems unusual for w young woman who wants children.But it is sometimes reversible and maybe she didn’t think so far ahead.
This blindness to our own feelings seems to lead many of us astray.
We sometimes get clues to our hidden feelings in dreams or we could find someone to talk to when going through a major life decision.
Some people don’t know that grief and mourning exist and are stunned when they feel sad and often their families criticise them for “not coping well” Coping here seems to mean remaining happy and calm all the time;this is a selfish demand on a bereaved person or anyone really.
I also noticed over the years that many famous people suffered from depression but when you examine their lives they seem to demand too much from themselves and be afraid to ask for help
.Poor Sylvia Plath wanted to be famous which she is now but alas she is dead. It’s hard to know why she felt the need to work so hard except her upbringing was one where acadenic excellence was valued and why she married someone with no obvious way of providing support either financial or emotional… when it got tough he ran off… but who knows why? The point that interests me is that she was compulsively driven to achieve… and she did so much in her short life… but was it worth it?
We all need to examine our life to see if we are acting stupidly.
But when worn out mentally it seems thinking is a mistake whereas simple manual work is beneficial as is being outdoors or being with kind undemanding friends…. and if a person has few friends coping with emotional trauma is much harder.This affects people who move to another state or country.And older people moving house even can bring on mental confusion.
And if we are people who find friendship and intimacy hard then it’s likely that we will suffer more from any problem we run into.
Finally,is the idea of a vocation for each of us of value?We each have unique gifts plus a need to earn a living.It depends on many factors outside our control whether we can find a job that combines these.Many poets and writers work in menial jobs to earn a living and then they write at night.[Teaching seems to sap creative energy.]
Other people don’t feel they have a calling but train for something they feel will earn a living in a way that suits them.Electricians and plumbers are in great demand…
And apart from finding our own true needs we need to contribute to society in some way.And to have a feeling of enjoying being alive which is perhaps denied those millions in Asia who make our clothes,i phones and other goods.
Winter,I’ve been inside
Dreaming, healing,grieving
Now I see my plants
The almost white cyclamen and one red flower
Sage and rosemary
Japanese maples snug in their tubs
No sign of leaves
I read blackbirds sing more
Than is strictly necessary
I’m not surprised.
It disproves monetary economics
And spending cuts.
We should build cathedrals,,spires and marble halls.
Give expression to the wonder we feel.
Winter,I feel cold.
When people destroy what can we do?
I’m the Sleeping Beauty waking.
I can’t believe what’s true.
I don’t want to see reality
But I don’t want to lose your care.
I want to go on being selfish
And having you always there.
I don’t want to feel your feelings.
I am aware that I’ve been very curt.
I want to go on ignoring you,
Because real knowledge will hurt.
The longer I pretend to be ignorant,
The longer I opt not see,
The more I shall hurt my loved ones.
The more unkind and cruel I’ll be.
I don’t want to see reality.
I’m frightened of what I might find.
I need a dear friend to be with me
Whilst I traverse the dark glades of my mind.
I am afraid to discover reality,
But it’s better for us all if we do.
I hope I can get enough courage
To be able to bear what is true.
I’m but an adverb passing by,
She says she loves me,does she lie?
I’m parsing all her bills and notes,
And then I’m listing many quotes.
The plumber’s fixing up the nouns,
In case some name should chance to drown,
and in the cellar stands a box
For storing wolves and sheep in flocks.
Where have all the nouns gone to?
O,dear Lord, one’s in my shoe.
Put them on the washing line,
While I create a new design.
Grammar needs to be revised,
For many rules are now despised,
and words go weeping through the day,
as no writers want to play.
Do you like the perfect tense?
Does creation still make sense?
Latin was not hard to learn
Now I’ll try Swedish in turn.
After that, if I’m still here
I will study atmosphere.
Hebrew is all Greek to me.
Why not construct a language tree?
Everything must be combined,
Or our dear world may all untwine.
Many hands make fights worse
Where have all the Powers gone?
A bad flea engorged her nipples
Once written, time flies.
Two many looks spoil the tough.
My cat has nine wives.
A word in the bush gives birth to two second-hand.
She was in the last pose of summer.
Alas ,my love,you singed my wings.
Ever wrathful,you were Sue.
A man is as good as he’s learned.
A howling bone shattered the glass.
http://www.learn-english-today.com/proverbs/proverbs-A1.html
| A bad excuse is better than none. | Always give an excuse, even if it’s a poor one. |
| A bad penny always turns up. | An unwanted or disreputable person constantly comes back. |
| A bad tree does not yield good apples. | A bad parent does not raise good children. |
| A bad workman blames his tools. | Blaming the tools for bad workmanship is an excuse for lack of skill. |
| A barking dog seldom bites. | Someone who constantly makes threats rarely carries them out. |
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| A black plum is as sweet as a white. | People should not be judged by their appearance. |
| A book holds a house of gold. | There is a wealth of knowledge in books. |
| A broken friendship may be soldered but will never be sound. | Friendships can be rebuilt after a dispute but will never be as strong as before. |
| A burden of one’s own choice is not felt. | Something difficult seems easier when it is done voluntarily. |
| A burnt child dreads the fire. | A bad experience will make people stay away from certain things. |
| A calm sea does not make a skilled sailor. | A person shows their competence or ability when difficulties arise. |
| A cat has nine lives. | 1) Cats can survive many accidents because they land on their feet without injury. 2) Nine lives = 3 years to play, 3 years to stray, 3 years to stay. |
Mary dreamed she was riding her bicycle.She was going up a hill and then approaching a very complicated roundabout.
How can I look at the map when I am riding my bike,she asked herself.Anyway I don’t have a map and I’ve never been here before.She looked down and saw she was wearing some dark blue denim culottes and red suede knee high boots with laces.
I don’t remember buying these,she thought.She felt quite hot even though she wore only an olive needle-cord coat over a Breton T shirt.
Goodness me, she cried.I look smart.
Her spectacles clouded over as she was sweating.How will I know where to turn off when I don’t know where I am or where I am going to.
When she woke up she filled Stan’s beer tankard with tea.
What a lot of tea,miaowed Emile.
I thought it saves carrying the tea pot. I’m going to go back to bed as I feel a bit peculiar.
You have got a fleece nightgown on.Maybe you are too hot,he replied.
I am trying to save money on the heating,Mary answered.I see I can save even more money by buying 2 pairs of Hotters sandals for £97.Usually they are £127.
That saves £30,the clever animal informed her.
I think it’s quite misleading,Mary answered.It only saves money if you were already planning to buy them.I have such strange feet I don’t like to bare them.
Do you wear shoes in bed with a boyfriend.Emile asked.
I’ve not got a boyfriend.Emile/
But if you did?
Well.you know, an older man might not wish to go to bed with me.He might like just sitting holding my hand and kissing me.
OK said ,Emile.It sounds a trifle boring to me.
Don’t be so cheeky, Emile.Talking to me is not boring.
No, he said, but it’s nice running up and down your legs in bed.
I could hardly expect a man to do that.He might injure me.
It was just a kind of example,he replied nervously.
Suddenly the back door opened and in ran Annie from next door.She was wearing a mustard coloured track suit and orange trainers with matching lip gloss.
What a horrible colour,Mary cried.
It’s the in colour now,Annie said kindly.I am getting my hair dyed too.
Bright yellow is better,Mary told her.Except it attracts insects.
Insects,I don’t want those.How are you,dear.You look flushed, she responded emotionally.
No wonder. I’ve been cycling all night in my dreams.Why can’t I dream of motor bikes?
Don’t ask me,Annie told her.I am utterly ignorant.Do you need therapy?
I don’t think so,Mary answered.I need to know where I am going.Do I decide or is it my Inner Wisdom or Higher Power.I could use higher power on that bike.
Just take it one rotation at a time, Annie murmured.
I thought it was one step.Mary answered
You can’t take a step on a bike.
I suppose not.But I could ride up a step on the bike.
Don’t ride up a step ladder,Anne advised.How would you get down again?
Let’s have some coffee,Mary cried.Here we are ,the kettle is boiling.
Let’s just sit and brood.
But don’t ruminate,purred Emile.It makes you ill.
Just let your mind go blank.
And so I did.
She heard a wail between her legs.She had given birth.She had no idea what caused it but it was very intriguing.It was human.
His lies were enough to make sackcloth pleat.He was a born denier.He could fake any commotion and lie with emotion.He was an actor,you see,
Why not break the maths off and leave the arrest to me? It doesn’t make sins!
How about some data? We could correlate.Or is it co-relate?
Don’t grieve the hens.They are laid up already
She made her step black with boot polish so the carpets have foot prints.Very a la mode.But what a mood she was in.He meted out her punishment.A cup of tea!Next time paint it, he said.There’s no next time she said as she ran away with the postman.
Take care of your rioting? No,take the cat for the ironing.But why? Because he’s bored stiff and lying flat.
How about a bike pump?That will do the trick and get him rowing [ is that having a row?]
To make me alive is not my job.I’ll take it from there.
Stroke the cat strongly weekly or weakly daily.
Fake it from me.I love you with all my parts.
Take it to the gimlet or is it the hamlet? For sighing out proud,ask someone.Shakespeare here?
| synonyms: | dispense, hand out, apportion, distribute, issue,deal out, dole out, measure out, divide out, divide up, parcel out, share out, split up, give out,portion out, dish out, allocate, allot, bestow,assign, administer
“the judges were unwilling to mete out harsh punishment”
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| synonyms: | in the right frame of mind for/to, feeling like,ready for/to, wanting to, inclined to, disposed to, minded to, interested in, keen on/to, eager to, enthusiastic about, willing to, game for
“I’m not in the mood for sightseeing”
|
| synonyms: | bad mood, temper, bad temper, fit of bad/ill temper, sulk, pet, the sulks, fit of pique, low spirits, depression, bout of moping, the doldrums, the blues; More |
Twisted feet can still walk if we can bear the pain
I’ve got just one letter
written in your hand
One short letter
I understand,
One is as infinity
compared to having naught.
I’ll keep this letter
In the museum of my heart.
’ve only got one photograph
and that is very old
but to me this photograph
is more valuable than gold
Time has thundered by.
Is it now too late?
But may there be a second chance?
Let’s not accept love’s fate.
No matter how we falter,
No matter how we fail
Can we still forgive ourselves,
and rewrite this sad tale.
One more letter,
One more heartfelt smile,
That will be sufficient
To rebirth a love grown frail.
For once this love was stronger
Once this love was true;
So now we are wondering
If we may create our love anew
How my heart sings 