Sveinn and Joshua – Seven Days

i have become fascinated by the cemetery in the middle of this small town. when i first walked passed i hardly noticed it. the place is currently covered in snow and only a few tombstones and crosses can be seen, but many more small clear crosses can be seen protruding from the snow. small markers of what lies underneath. slowly i began to notice the tombstones., the crosses, the names. every day i walk by this place. i could take another route, but i enjoy seeing the markers, the names, the years where these deaths took place.
today i was struck by one cross in particular it is engraved with the name Sveinn Helgason, indicating it was a boy. upon reading the dates i found that Sveinn had only lived for seven days in may of 1934. seven days.
from may 23, 1934 through may 30, 1934. Sveinn lived seven days.
1934 was a very long time ago in many ways. Iceland was a much different country, the countryside did not have the roads or tunnels available today. Today you can drive to the nearest large city (Akureyri) in less than an hour, if you are not in a hurry, you can get to the other side of the fjord by way of a tunnel through the mountain. these things were just not possible then.
Sveinn was loved enough and his parents had enough resources that his metal cross still stands above the snow, accompanied by a smaller clear cross at the edge of the cemetery.
a little angel as we would say in Mexico. forever innocent.
i knew of another angel more than ten years ago who also graced his parents lives for seven days. his name is Joshua, and he will live forever in his family’s hearts. different time periods different circumstances, but still remembered, still loved.
i imagined then as i did this morning, the parents of these small children seeing their children again in the after life, smiling and the child asking them if it was a long wait to see them again, and the parents responding, “i had already felt heaven, for i spent seven days with you”.

New Friends, Good Laughs, Good Memories.

awesome dinner tonight with my friends Úlfar and Anna Kristín. met a new two new friends as well, their dog Lola and Anna’s father Bjarni. we had a great chat with a wonderful view of the mountains as well as good laughs telling jokes over dinner and coffee. today, as always, was greatly appreciated. the quiet walks, the wonderful landscape, the friendly people.

i only wish a certain someone was here to share this with me, but it was nonetheless special.

now to try and get a ride up the mountain for some adrenaline.

Imperfect

it slowly wraps itself around my soul

this imperfect humanness of mine
it creeps up on me as i live this
charmed life of errors and rhyme
this life is real,
as real as my smile
in the morning as i dress,
still dreaming the dreams
of the day before i slept
still living the life
of the dreams i so created
it is real in its imperfectness
real in its searching
of that we hide within ourselves
real is the life that lives
imperfectly
true is the love that loves
unknowingly

Like That

i do not love you like that

not like the rush of a swollen river
not like the sun as it gasps at sunset
not like the moon and its loneliness
not like that
like the fragrance of mountain mist
like the cover of darkness under a new moon
blinding, but not blind
quiet, but not silent, colorful
and yet unseen
without the pretexts of love
without the arrogance of need
without the blindness
of expectation
like warm rain drops in summer
like sweet song of canaries in spring
like fire, incomprehensible
like that

Like This

like water rushing.

cresting waves of foam.
like embers.
waiting for your breath,
to rekindle.
to burn.
like water drops
on your swollen lips.
like fire.
like water.

like this.

This Now

this now whose being stretches out

to engulf infinity
this now i have yet to cherish
the moment that is me
the instant i believe
this now i have forgotten
this now i’ve yet to live
the endless now among your lips
the breathless now between your thighs
the hopeless now that joins our lives
this blossom of eternity
conjectured truths that end in lies
this blessing gained
this bloom of dragon flies
this whisper in our midst
this now
this present
this you

ERES

“…como la tierra eres necesaria.” Pablo Neruda

eres como la ráfaga de sentir que vuela entre los naranjos,
como el horizonte de una tierra siempre lejana,
como la luna enrojecida de dolor,
eres como las nubes corriendo entre montañas,
como el vientre de mi madre;

eres como el suave sentir de un café en una tarde de otoño,
eres como la superficie de un espejo,
eres como el calor oscuro de mi pecho,
eres como el recuerdo de un beso,
eres como una nieve dulce en un verano ardiente;

como el pecho de una madona,
como un voto religioso,
como una monja en una cantina,
eres como la última nota de una ópera;

como la capilla en la montaña,
eres como el silencio,
eres como la imaginación de un niño,
como un adiós de amantes,
eres como la manzanilla;

eres como el interminable tumbo de las olas.

como el menguar y crecer de la luna,
eres como el saborear el mar a medianoche,
eres como el morder una botella;

como la lluvia en mi boca,
como el incienso,
como la niebla en la bahía,
eres como la luna reflejada en la mar;

como el cantar,
como el llorar,
como el sueño de un niño,
como el morir a solas,
como el comer la tierra, como seducir el sol,
como dormir a solas;

y a pesar de todo, solo eres,
y porque eres,
sigo siendo.

I give you this Day

I give you this day.

A spherical infinite view

Of colored rose petals on the water.

The slow scintillating sun on

Shimmering silver wings of

Desperate fallen angels.

The beat of my heart.

I give you this day,

And the finite number of infinite

Moments that engulf its being.

The resonant tremble of my

Memories of you. The seeing

Of my arrested emotions.

A day with only five seconds

To remember, and an eternity

To live through.

A day of soft sipping

Helados de nieve among the

Slumbering plaza benches

Covered in bougainvilleas.

A day as infinite as a child’s imagination.

The color of the air scented

With the morning breezes of life;

The smell of the morning fog

As it rumbles down the street;

Morning bread, clip-clop of

The horses, unending flapping

Of wings, songs of yellow-blue

Canaries on the backs of darkened

Earth-bound clouds, fresh carnations

And frozen dew drops on your eyes.

I give you the ever-ending moments

Which linger far beyond their life

And die giving all to this day;

This cover of sunshine, closed eyes

Among the crowds, serenity among

The hustle of bodies in the rain,

I give you the routinely elegant

Escape of the day, the predictable

Hope of thirst for everlasting

Raindrops on your tongue.

I give you this day covered

In the sumptuous assertion

Of life itself, the blink of eyes

Which transforms our worlds

In unspoken instances without

Order, the smiles that wash

Our beings into the rivers

Of our unpredictable

Destinies, caramel.

I give you this day

And the sweetness of itself,

The bitterness of itself,

The joy of itself,

The self of itself,

The drunken mumble of

Itself in laughter.

I give you a day

Of chamomile sips.

This one day of days.

This one luminous

Receptacle of a year’s

Worth of life, this one day;

I give you this life.

Good night sun,

Good morning moon.

I give you this day.

Azul – Blue

Azul – azul cielo, cielo, cielo y mar.

Canto, canto del suelo, suelo y cielo,

Cielo y mar, entre el mar y el cielo,

Suelo del mar, mar del cielo, azul.

Escucha el cielo, suelo de voz,

Voz del mar, entre el azul del suelo

Y el ardor del mar, suelo entre sueños.

Luna entre el mar y el cielo, sol.

Escucha el canto de la luna en el cielo,

Del sol dormido en el mar, del suelo

Resonando entre la tierra, canto, voz.

Azul cielo, azul mar, suelo ardiente.

Azul.

==

Blue – sky blue, sky and sea

Song, song of the ground, ground and sky,

Sky and sea, between the sea and sky,

Ground of the sea, sea of the sky, blue.

Listen to the sky, ground of voice,

Voice of the sea, between the blue ground

And the burning of sea, ground among dreams

Moon between the sea and sky, sun.

Listen to the song of the moon in the sky,

Sun sleeping in the sea, of the ground

Resonating in the earth, song, voice.

Sky blue, sea blue, burning ground.

Blue

Good Company, Good Coffee and Good Food, should never be far in your life.

well, it was bound to happen, yes, i fell on the ice. i made the mistake of leaving the house without my yaktrax. after all, how bad can it be right. i am happy to say my camera, however, remains intact 😉 so i just stretched a bit before going to visit my friend Anna Kristín and Úlfar at Cafe Klara (Book Cafe). they only open on the weekends for the moment, but it is well worth the wait. had an awesome coffee, and delicious bread with meat and butter. the best part of course, was the company. we joked, shared stories, laughed and generally just got to know each other, which is of course the reason for the food and coffee after all, they are just social catalysts – this explains why i am so chubby; i keep seeking social interaction 🙂20160305-_DSC0072

in the middle of the afternoon, we had a meeting at Listhús with all the other artists that are here for the month of march (there were six of total at the meeting although there are two more people coming in the next few days). we all had to do a short presentation on our work…i am humbled, and gladly so. there is so much talent here, that i only hope to be able to learn from these people as much as i can.

the list of artists is as follows:

— Carissa Baktay (Canada/ Portugal) | Ceramic artist
http://www.carissabaktay.com/
–Jessica Fertonani Cooke (Brazil /Italy) | visual artist
http://jessicafertonanicooke.com/#0
–Paula Faraco (Brazil/Germany) | photographer
https://www.behance.net/paulafaraco
–Rayn Wood (Canada) | photographer
http://frontierfoto.ca/
–Thomas Abercromby (Scotland) | textile artist
http://hausofabercromby.com/

and two more that are to arrive soon:
— Heliodoro Santos Sánchez + Héctor Miguel Guerrero
(Colima, México) | media artist

after the meeting i went back to Cafe Klara as they were waiting for me before formally closing – they only open from 1pm to 5pm but they waited for me until 6 – gotta love this place.

afterwards Alice Liu gave me some Chinese medicine  to rub in my back for the pain. i do hope it works as i definitely did not bring enough pain meds for this.

the other artists now know about Cafe Klara opening on the weekend so i hope to share more with them tomorrow over coffee, and good food.