The little god was creating lichens for the northern aspects of coastal pines, and the patterns of eggshells laid by birds which nested in the littoral forests. Each object on the earth is a different construct of affection, and the little god built the world with intimacy and curiosity, using questions as the tools that shaped and colored.

How much green in the moss? How much song in the bird?

How much of harmony in anything?

The little god merged all habitats together delicately. The desert bled into the tundra; tundra into steppe; prairie into savannah; grassland into jungle: the edges in nature were to be defined only by their ability to blend…

What did the little god do when he created the breast? He had spent centuries meditating out on the water, the ocean boiling around him.

The little god sat atop a sequoia with folded legs. The earth was still learning to breathe, and the mountains were finding their comfortable heights and spreading the widths of their skirts. They jostled on the blue horizon, competing for light.

The shrunken monk levitated at the foot of the man’s bed, whistling softly. He did not wait for the man to open his eyes before speaking.

“But for the mask of vanity you have hammered upon the face of the world, you would recognize the fog roll over her vitality. You would not be blind to the sadness chiseling impenetrable cliffs along her jaw line. In your ignorance you will believe it to be weakness, the growing lethargy that she fosters in her bones; the blunt expressions that she greets you with; the stunted syllables that she uses to ward off tyranny. But for the mask of your vanity, you would not be blind to her apparent working of miracles.”…

The mapping of flaw has been completed. The shape of my name inherits the angles and contours of infamy. It can barb a tongue if uttered in certain quarters. It can be used as a flamethrower, can be a bottle filled with rags and propane and thrown against an ear. My name can glaze eyes with the longing for an intimate jihad….

At this time of year, we tend to pay more attention – as a culture – to goodwill, indeed: it is an integral part of the Christmas spirit. It is also an essential part of the Christmas story: the innkeeper’s stable; the gifts of the Magi, these motifs help to reinforce a charitable, giving nature. As individuals, we begin to understand from early childhood that, for goodwill to work there needs to be more than one person involved in the process: there cannot be goodwill in isolation – it is a contradiction in terms. Goodwill takes two to at least even be coherent as a concept.

The interesting thing about happiness, in the current way that we view the concept, is that it works at its peak when in isolation. Our very logic and language is created around a solitary experience of happiness, viewing it as an individual pursuit, a pursuit which serves as an existential boundary between our self and others. To understand how deep this goes, one needs to look at the language, as internal language defines our thoughts and feelings, and see that – as a species – there is not a specific word in any language (well over 6000 worldwide) to describe the quality of being happy about somebody else’s happiness…

Sprocket Rocket

If you’ve got a little bit of time to kill over the holidays, check out this neat little game, Sprocket Rocket. These little puzzle games get me addicted almost as soon as I begin to play them – I just have to solve them – I MUST! Anywho, it’s pretty challenging and a nice little distraction from everything else, if only for a time. You can find it by clicking here. Merry Christmas!

So, it looks like Google are going into the online dating game as well, and some would say that it was only a matter of time before they plugged in to this lucrative market. The singles scene has blossomed with the mainstreaming of the Internet, and what was once seen as somewhat crazy (Internet dating was frowned upon by many) is now viewed by many as the most legitimate way to meet a life partner. Usually, those who hold the new view met their partner online. Most others think that the real world may still be legitimate.

Anyway, here’s the link. The whole thing appears a little disingenuous to me, but the Googlemind has made it their priority to provide us with the answers to many of lifes problems, so why not provide us with life partners? Maybe Google really does have the answer for everything? Anyhow, give Google Romance a try today.

I want to give a warm season’s greetings to all who read this blog, and to all who may find themselves on this page accidently. I wish for you the best that the season has to give in terms of laughter and communion with your loved ones, and that your time together may be warm and enriched with mutual care and respect. If there isn’t much to give in terms of material possessions, remember that blessings are not those things that sustain us in a transient manner, and that possessions and belongings will perish or erode in some way – loving experience is the one gift that people will always relish opening, and lasts as long as living memory allows.

Say hi to your loved ones for me, and from me or on behalf of poetry itself, read them a poem that you love, write one of your own to give them as a special gift, or download one of the poems from this site and pass it on (the pdf download link is beneath every poem on this site). Poetry is a wonderful gift, and you will not only be giving to a loved one, but you will also be giving back to poetry. Poetry could always do with that little bit extra in terms of circulation.

Thank you for reading through 2010, and I hope to see you throughout the holiday season and into the new year, to share more of this wonderful journey called life with you. Many blessings!