dedicated to the exploration of a small happening
July 29 1. The wave drew back again, eroding the sand from under my feet, making a space for me to fall into, a barely noticeable fall. 2. I woke up and listened to the waves the full moon pulled toward me and I watched the horizon in the blue-dark and saw lines of shadows … Continue reading Water, Earth, Sky – #21
July 19 1. I got salt in the mail from you. It reminded me of King Lear and his misunderstanding of his daughter's assertion. So I felt loved, though that was a misunderstanding of your intention. The salt was from Bali. I don't know if it was from the north coast or not but I … Continue reading Love Notes – #20
July 12 *Cempaka (Chempahkah) are tiny, white, South and southeast Asian Magnolia flowers that have an extraordinary perfume. Men climb the big trees to pick them in the early morning when the flowers are soft and closed. This is the desirable form. When they open, their petals stiffen and curve up and back. 1. The … Continue reading Cempaka – #18
July 11 1. I lost the ring, that Julian made for me, in the yard after taking a bath. 2. I carried my jewelry with me from the bath house and set it all on the table. 3. I put my leather collar on (always first), earrings, necklace, rings, but was missing the one for … Continue reading Orang halus – the subtle people and the ring – #17
July 9 1. I put away the black pepper; I can't remember what part of the body is its correlative - freckles? Moles on the skin? 2. When the priest's wife died, she willed herself to depart on the full moon, an auspicious day, appropriate for a holy woman. The full moon is when the … Continue reading Body of Spice – #16
July 8 1. The counter is too high in this kitchen for me to straighten my arm and use my weight to crush the ingredients of my spice paste (bumbu). I can't put my mortar on the floor because there is no door on the kitchen and the puppies will come in. 2. When I … Continue reading Spice – #15
July 6 1. I looked at the rice cooker - the Magic Jar - and commented to Suartini that the first time I stayed with her and Nyoman, 22 years ago, she was cooking rice in the traditional way, albeit with an aluminum pot over kerosene as opposed to a clay pot over a wood … Continue reading Magic Jar – #14
July 4 1. When I comb my fingers through my hair to pull the knots, long grey hairs come away in my hand. 2. Mom used to touch my head and smooth my hair when I was sick. Sometimes Dad rested his hand on the top of my head, then moved his hand to the … Continue reading Hair – #13
June 27 I started out thinking about language, about how sentences can be structured differently to describe the same event. I was interested in that. And while I'm still interested in that, it's not where I want to focus my attention now, though I'm just a short distance into this project. I'm confident this is … Continue reading Tiny Events & the Palace of Memories
June 26 1. It's good to walk on quiet roads. I found a black raspberry bush (2) and foraged 3 berries - 2 unripe. 2. I found a black raspberry bush. The last one before this one was in Spain 3. I picked black raspberries once in New Hampshire and remembering them makes me think, … Continue reading Black Raspberry – #12
Tiny Events 