"If you were a scoop of vanilla..."

What We Might Be, What We Are
by X. J. Kennedy

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If you were a scoop of vanilla
And I were the cone where you sat,
If you were a slowly pitched baseball
And I were the swing of a bat,

If you were a shiny new fishhook
And I were a bucket of worms,
If we were a pin and a pincushion,
We might be on intimate terms.

If you were a plate of spaghetti
And I were your piping-hot sauce,
We’d not even need to write letters
To put our affection across,

But you’re just a piece of red ribbon
In the beard of a Balinese goat
And I’m a New Jersey mosquito.
I guess we’ll stay slightly remote.


"What We Might Be, What We Are" by X.J. Kennedy from Exploding Gravity. © Little Brown, 1992.  (buy now)

"We sorrow that racism and hate still exist..." A Letter from Friends General Conference Leaders

How The Quakers Made (and are still making) America -- Quakers and Cajun!

When many people hear the word Quaker, all they think of is oatmeal. Quakers, though, are part of a vital faith tradition that is older than the United States and actually helped form the best parts of our nation. Bet you didn't know that, did you?

We also contributed some of the worst parts, too, and we even talk about it.

Intrigued?? Come to this installment of "Quakers and Cajun" to find out more.

"Cajun and Quakers" will meet at 6:30 pm on June 24 at Zydeco's Cajun at 11 E. Main in Mooresville. Quaker author, photographer, and retreat leader Brent Bill, a member of Spirituality & Practice’s Living Spiritual Teachers Project, will present a fast-paced, whimsical, and informational presentation about Quakers and how they helped make America!

There will be plenty of time to ask questions about Quakers and enjoy Zydeco's great food and libations. You'll find that the food won't be the only thing that's spicy that night!

"a song with no end"

a song with no end

by Charles Bukowski

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when Whitman wrote, “I sing the body electric”

I know what he
meant
I know what he
wanted:

to be completely alive every moment
in spite of the inevitable.

we can’t cheat death but we can make it
work so hard
that when it does take
us

it will have known a victory just as
perfect as
ours.
"a song with no end" by Charles Bukowski from The Night Torn Mad With Footsteps. © Black Sparrow Press, 2002 (buy now)