Most recent poet found with random book taken off shelf, Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy by Keith Waldrop fit in perfectly with the ‘Sagittarian Invasion’ artists on the blog recently told of…following Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (same sign: Austen turned 246 earth yrs on Dec. 16; Waldrop turned 89 on Dec. 11) what I thought…

…It’s a book of modern abstract art meets magic realism meets sarcasm meets ancient myth remade with originality meets simplicity, dissatisfaction, and discovery. 

Reading Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy was refreshing, rejuvenating, and centering, much like how I’d felt with a bundle of blue sage I’d found without looking for any at a shop this month, but I wasn’t allergic to this book at all, all of my senses well.

My cat Peeko liked this book too as I found him sitting with paws placed neatly on top of it just before I snapped the photo. With my delight at him representing the book, he gently moved them aside… as if to say the book was taking a selfie with him and not the other way around…and the Christmas wreath can be seen after Christmas, I guess… says Peeko.

I had joined a poetry readers’ group that challenges members to read at least 20 poetry books in a year. I had no intention of reading any number, miscalculated at first and found by book 18 I’d read 20 anyway.

About my last read, Dec. 28…

…Feeling suddenly exhausted and sorry for that, I opened Hidden Music poetry by Rumi (first name Jalaluddin) and was touched, and felt more dreamy than exhausted as I lounged with it. The poetry… and paintings by Azima Alita Kolin…spoke to a quiet place in me beyond words and brought me to a place in my own imagination, where I may step into my next painting having had a glimpse in a direction that feels more interesting and also enough for me. The poems and paintings were soothing to me, like nourishing elixirs of words, colors, truths, and form.

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Fresh parsley I learned 🙏how to store in the refrigerator in a water glass trimmed just a little…Here they are for the week; I just snap a leaf and chew, and then sometimes I think I’m done and then I’ll snap another one, and then be done. 😊🌿😋

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My niece Brinley can already hold the bottle herself and drink, and this was a very sleepy time for us both…

I am also very excited that my sister, Jenna is having a baby due the day after my birthday in February. And this boy already has his dance moves ready!

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I am working on my current painting that the book, Hidden Music moved me towards anew—the sketch I’d drawn as a guide of subjects I might include.

I came across a book about Leonardo DaVinci and browsed through it as the poet and artist Kahlil Gibran I’d written of on the blog had been greatly impressed with him; I really hadn’t been or known anything about him.

DaVinci was noted in the book to have been a truly playful person—much more than people would know him for— and he’d preserve that playfulness throughout his life.

I am still inwardly laughing with remembering his painting, Madonna and The Pomegranate…or maybe it was The Child with the Pomegrenate; the image was just wondrously ridiculous.

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😊🌘🖐💗🧘‍♀️🔥🌊✨🧚‍♀️💫🎊🎉

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Previously: Hear Edna St. Vincent Millay Read Her Own Poetry

Midnight Christmas Eve, A True Tale of Poetry