lifeuncommon

In memory of, and tribute to, Irish poet Seamus Heaney.
13 April 1939 ~ 30 August 2013

Fittingly for a great poet and Nobel Prize laureate, his work is going out of stock at online retailers as people clamour to get their copies. I have North (1975) on my shelf and Stepping Stones on Audible on my computer.  Now I have Opened Ground on the way to me from bookdepository.co.uk - but many results are 'currently out of stock'.

I can't wait to study Irish literature (and poetry in particular) even more, and to visit the two Irelands. I regret that I can no longer sit in on one of Heaney's lectures.

Some believe it was no co-incidence that William Butler Yeats died in the year Seamus Heaney was born.  Heaney is lauded as the greatest Irish poet since Yeats.  The curious and superstitious part of me wonders which great Irish poet born in 2013 will receive the baton?

Hey, it worked for the Dali Lama of Tibet.  Well, at least until Chinese occupation and their outlawing of reincarnation. *eyeroll*  To my knowledge, the Irish literary world has no such law...  Watch this space!

the quartet practiced in the park
and we sang dirges in the dark
the day the music died

I had the privilege of seeing singer-songwriter Don McLean in concert last night.  Though I'm off from work sick, I got through the concert with only minimal horrendous coughing.  I even managed to sing along (by invitation of the whole audience) with American Pie.  (I say 'by invitation' of the artist because usually I just sing along anyway and piss off those in the audience around me.  E.g. at Leonard Cohen, Radiohead, CAKE, MUSE, Reel Big Fish, The Dresden Dolls (twice), Flogging Molly (three times)... okay so often really. )

It was inspirational and a wonderful night with my parents.

"Come about" is my three-hundredth deviation to the Poetry - Human Nature category.

So two years on and Queensland is flooding again.

Two years on and I'm actually recovered from my relationship ending at the time of the last disastrous floods.  I'm happy, well, healthy, reasonably content, hardworking and all the rest of it. It was a hard two years sometimes, and a downright fun two years at other times. But I'm finally in a really good place and I'm making my life a good one.

The floods are, of course, a worry. I just moved and there's no power at my new place, went to my parent's today on treacherous roads to get to some electricity and human company. But I'm only very mildly effected.  There are a lot of people who won't be sleeping as safely, soundly and dryly as myself tonight. Not the least of which the people being pulled from the ground into helicopters in Bundaberg.

Still, I'm grateful that I'm well this year and that there doesn't look to be that horrendous loss of life we had two years ago. Silver linings, y'all!

be a world, child
form a circle
before we all
go under

and fade out
again
fade out
again

immerse your soul
in love

immerse your soul
in love

Street Spirit (Fade Out), Radiohead

I'm in Melbourne, spent a few hours listening to stories, opinions, memories and other streams of consciousness from my lovable grandmother.

I'm recording some of the conversations on MP3.  My grandma is writing her memoir but has several serious hurdles in the way - her health, technology, and getting overwhelmed in the immensity of the story.

I hope to record more next visit and get really serious about saving them. Myself and other family members need to finish her story if she doesn't.

But I left today feeling absolutely exhausted. I do get tired really easily and quickly. So does she, only she's 83 and has a string of serious medical conditions which makes it all a bit more expected in her case. heh.

Our fatigue and loss of energy could be the things most dangerous to the completion of this book.

Still, I'm going to do my best.