Quest for sustenance

this is a phrase i used once in a song; "the quest for sustenance, a sea bird's cry", it escapes me at this moment which song, does not matter, the stain of potato chips are on my fingertips already, i just brushed a little salt off of my t-shirt, bright sun shining as they fall through air to ground, halfway across the street, into the alley alongside dumpsters smelling ripe as late afternoon temperature climbs, a car behind me speeds up when i veer off toward the building entrance, back to my desk, this moment is waiting, discussion of spam, earlier a twix bar, what does $1.19 buy these days, one twix bar, one small bag of potato chips, and that little corner store survives another day in this economy, a little reading today about the $250 million it will cost to build detention centers for prisoners of this war that we started in iraq, how they have rioted in volumes of 1,000 to 10,000 at a time, this anger they feel, the small rocks that blind the guards when thrown at more than 100 mph with a makeshift slingshot, reading also glenn beck's column that today scorns our oil addiction while recommending drilling in the anwr, who very recently wrote on the benefits of corporate welfare, probably for oil companies right glenn?, the same companies that are racking up record-breaking profits over and over again, who is it that owns mr beck, not too hard to figure that out, and today the sun shines and the first 800,000 of our economic stimulus checks go out, so all will be wonderful now.

" The quest for sustenance is regarded as “seeking the bounty of Allah”, and is thus hued with a profoundly religious character. The Prophet (Pbuh) has said: “The quest for halal earning is a duty after a duty” which implies that seeking halal sustenance is a religious obligation second in importance to religious observance like prayer, fasting etc. Economic activity in the life of a Muslim is therefore regulated by divine principles, principles that are premised on commercial morality. Commercial morality is intrinsically bound to religion and is as important to faith, as wudhu is to salat. The Qur’an describes upright merchants in the following words: “Men whom neither business nor sale can divert from the remembrance of Allah, nor from regularity in salat or from giving zakat”. True believers are not recluses or mystics, they are men of action distinguished by their moral fibre. They steer clear from unbecoming business ethics or ill-gotten gain. " (Islamic Voice: Rabi-ul-Akhir 1422HJuly 2001Volume 15-07 No:175)

Voices framing argenta

"In 1983 Nancy Argenta attracted critical attention as La Chasseuresse in Rameau’ Hyppolyte at Aricie at the Aix-en-Provence Festival. Since making her professional debut in 1983 she has established a reputation as one of the foremost sopranos of her generation. She is generally regarded as "the supreme Händel soprano of our age". However, this probably fails to show her wide range of repertoire, as she is also a renowned interpreter of Bach, Purcell, Mozart, Schubert and even Schoenberg. Her repertoire stretches from the 17th century to the present and comprises songs as well as oratorio and opera." (Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of 20th Century Classical Musicians (1997)

i remember going up to vancouver bc with elisabeth cutler in 1978 to see joni mitchell, performing on that tour with jaco pastorius and pat metheny, an amazing band, a truly lovely performance, much of which came from "hejira". we drove up in elisabeth's vw fox, she and i had a sweet friendship that allowed for gentle touchdowns of affection without crossing the line into romance. our passion was the love of music. later i know she studied guitar with ralph towner, then went on to have a career based out of nashville and traveling mostly in italy.

then next time i saw joni was in 2000 when she toured with van morrison and bob dylan - they had a show at the gorge. it was windy and she stood facing into the wind, moving like a willow trunk, supple, dedicated, and again, song after song from "hejira" - all dressed in black and with a bass player only. that was amazing, as were bob and van... who had just released "the healing game", one of my favorite albums for cleaning the house, driving to lebam, fixing the car and other spiritual pursuits.

Tureen vagabond

it was in the day of soup, in the month of ladle, on the 17th serving of bread when we came to the table, and a swallow flew through dining car seven, our bags were packed in anguish heaven, carving the birdsong whistle blowing, pelting rain and winter snowing hard along the tracks of steel, our hands enveloped, turning wheel of fortune freeing up these names forsaken, lost along three strips of bacon, who was served from this tureen, that vagabond from county green, telling stories as he wanders toward some distant land of fathers coming home, and sitting with the children as is fitting.

HINDLEY: Keep away from the larder! Nelly, send him into the garret 'till dinner is over. He'll be cramming his fingers in the tarts and steeling the fruit, if left alone with them for a minute.
NELLY: (Placting.) Nay sir, he'll touch nothing, not he. And he must have his share of food as well as we. (She goes to the stove, removes a hot tureen and carries it to the table).
HINDLEY: He shall have his share of my hand if I catch him downstairs again 'till dark. Begone you vagabond! Wait 'till I get hold of those elegant locks - see if I won't pull them a bit longer!
(Wuthering Heights, Act I, Scene 3).

When the red red robin

WHEN THE RED ROBIN COMES BOBBIN' ALONG
(written by Harry Woods )

Al Jolson
Mandy Patinkin
The Osmond Brothers

"When the Red, Red Robin Comes Bob-Bob Bobbin' Along
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along, along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin' his old sweet song
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Get up, get out of your bed
Cheer up, cheer up the sun is red
Live, love, laugh and be happy
What if I were blue, now I'm walking through, walking through the fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again doing what I did again, singing a song
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin'
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts throbbin'
There'll be no more sobbin' when he starts a throbbin' his old sweet song
Wake up, wake up you sleepy head
Why don't you get up, get up, get out of bed, cheer up
Live, love, laugh and be happy
What if I were blue, now I'm walking through fields of flowers
Rain may glisten but still I listen for hours and hours
I'm just a kid again, doing what I did again, singing a song
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin'
When the red, red robin comes bob, bob, bobbin' along
Along, along, along, along, along."

red willow, red wine, red rings, red sleeping, red corners, red plot, red falling, red flicker, red moon, red ornament, red star, red hope, red rust, red development, red turning, red returning, red new, red old, red funny, red encryption, red sails, red nurse, red flag, red pilot, red duration, red crust, red cherry, red envelope, red flipside, red tummy, red eclipse, red revision, red sniper, red octopus, red night, red whale, red testimonial, red gratitude, red vegetable, red garcon, red carriage, red interest, red go.

Elliptical creosote vanilla

where o where has my little rabbit gone, my minou living long leg wrapping formal evidentiary volume of wringing hands, my lambs, my causes for recitation, my ignoble burden heaved upon the back of slaves, your elliptical creosote history coming round to haunt you mr senator, voicing your ignorance just in time for the anniversary of his death, his murder, you're slow in making the connection, you can't quite remember why and what you said, this is becoming so familiar, your vanilla shampoo blazing away like varnished applewood alongside the bus, stepping down in your navy baseball cap for the reporters to chum up with you, your daughter's graceful steps keeping up appearances that the record will not support, you did say it and you did vote that way, you are not a fan of dr king and no matter how timely your sympathy and respect have come to pass, no one in their right mind is going to let you get away with this one... or will they?

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron." (Dwight D. Eisenhower)