Reflections of a Man's Heart

 . . . an atmosphere in which invididual differences are appreciated, love is shown openly, mistakes are used for learning, communication is open, rules are flexible, responsibility (matching promise and delivery) is modeled and honesty is practiced . . .

Hmm.

What a strange beast.

. . .

Sharing with 례미 feels a lot like that. 

That is good.

. . .

Had to say it, because, sometimes, we forget to name things, and we end up missing them.

For no particular reason - except that we forgot to name them.

Names are all-important.

There is no one in this world who has time

but God alone.

And therefore all flowers come to Him

and the least among the ants.

The forget-me-not asks Him for a stronger brilliance

in her blue eyes

and the ant asks Him for more strength

to grip the straw.

And the bees ask Him for a stronger victory song

among scarlet roses.

And God is present in everything.

When the old woman unexpectedly met her cat at the well

and the cat his mistress

the joy was great for both of them

but greater still was their knowledge that God had brought them together

and wished them this wonderful friendship

for fourteen years.

Meanwhile, a redstart flew out of the mountain ash by the well

happy that God had not allowed the hunter to catch him.

But in a vague dream a little worm saw

how the crescent moon split his being into two:

one was nothing,

the other one was everything and God Himself.

- Edith Södergran

Black hair and red cheeks: for how long?

One moment, and the silver threads run through.

Open the blinds: the first apricot blossoms have opened -

Hurry! The spring days are now!

- Cui Shaoxuan

Stranger, if you passing meet me and desire to speak to me, why should you not speak to me?

And why should I not speak to you?

- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

So, here are some photos from Korea.

Rye Mi . . .

. . . and both of us, celebrating my birthday (just 21 years old ^^).

Ji sun was there.

And, look at the lovely birthday cake Rye Mi bought ^^

. . .

Enjoyed a lot the time with Ji Sun, a real sweetheart ^^

The moment we said "bye bye" the day before I departed was very nice.

All the best for you, dear Ji Sun . . . and visit as as soon as possible !

Mi Jeong with her boyfriend. Maybe they will travel around Europe next year. . . Hope they visit us and stay for some time in BCN.

	To the left Ryemi is experiencing the realities of sharing your life with a man in Spain -after the honeymoon phase has finished . . . (frightening, isn't it?)
. . . and here, to the right, was a real-as-life-itself explanation she gave me about what my nights would look like if that happened ^^   Come on, sweety, I was just kidding :)
(Daddy told me those things didn't happen back then . . . )

Received some books from Amazon, among them "Walt Whitman Selected Poems". Have to say that I'm really enjoying it . . . 

We two, how long we were fool'd,

Now transmuted, we swiftly escape as Nature escapes,

We are Nature, long have we been absent, but now we return,

We become plants, trunks, foliage, roots, bark,

We are bedded in the ground, we are rocks,

We are oaks, we grow in the openings side by side,

We browse, we are two among the wild herds spontaneous as any,

We are two fishes swimming in the sea together,

We are what locust blossoms are, we drop scent around lanes mornings and evenings,

We are also the coarse smut of beasts, vegetables, minerals,

We are two predatory hawks, we soar above and look down,

We are two resplendent suns, we it is who balance ourselves orbic and stellar, we are as two comets,

We prowl fang'd and four-footed in the woods, we spring on prey,

We are two clouds forenoons and afternoons driving overhead,

We are seas mingling, we are two of those cheerful waves rolling over each other and interwetting each other,

We are what the atmosphere is, transparent, receptive, pervious, impervious,

We are snow, rain, cold, darkness, we are each product and influence of the globe,

We have circled and circled till we have arrived home again, we two,

We have voided all but freedom and all but our own joy.

- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

You wake me,

Part my thighs, and kiss me.

I give you the dew

Of the first morning in the world.

- Marichiko

Spring is early this year

Laurel, plums, peaches,

Almonds, mimosa,

All bloom at once. Under the

Moon, night smells like your body.

- Marichiko

I wake at midnight.

The little shellfish I bought last evening

are alive with their mouths slightly open.

I will eat them all when day breaks.

I laugh a hag's laugh.

Afterwards there is nothing left of the night,

except to sleep with my mouth slightly open.

- Ishigaki Rin

Sweet and sad

like love overwhelmed

with long sighs,

out of the depths of the willow

little by little

the moon appears.

- Yosano Akiko