This is no weather for getting angry

 
We've spent a lot more time on our front patio area this year, partly thanks to the additional play area around the casita, and other family relaxing routines.  This particular song comes from an average Sunday afternoon in April, one of the hottest months here. I had recently had a conversation with Miriam's nanny about the weather and she said that in this heat, "...hay que guardar la calma" - in other words: stay calm, don't get worked up, move slowly.

This song couldn't have been more wrong though.  It was also this same month, just a week or so later, when the streets were filled with protesters and months of sociopolitical unrest followed.


(link if the player above doesn't work)


This is no weather for getting angry

summertime sun
and the air is still
there's no will
just a cup of cold water
fill and refill

streets are quiet
and the travelers few
the sky's a clear blue
someone's radio plays
maybe Rosario's news

this is April in Managua again
this is April in Managua my friend

keep calm, they tell me
this is no weather for getting angry

across the road
in the shade of the park
men with their ice cream carts
gathered around
a quiet game of cards

my mind plods along
in a low gear
in a slow gear
pace myself
for thinking here

Sit with me, my coffee shop love

At this stage of life (kids and work) and in this setting (urban, hot and muggy), one of the escapes that Rebekah and I have come to enjoy is the coffee shop.  There are a few of them here in Managua that are convenient and comfortable, filled with smells of Nicaraguan coffee.  Thanks to Rebekah for the coffee shop visits and singing together with me.

(The picture above is my coffee shop love on this particular morning. The song is equally applicable for her.)



Sit with me, my coffee shop love

sit across from me
table in between
tools for talk
the coffee cups
aligned
conversation starts out slow
between the known and the unknown
it's still early
and our thoughts aren't in gear
we have time

sit with me, my coffee shop love
stay with me, my coffee shop love
and let the others here all disappear
in their reading and their talk
while you and I share what's on our minds
and let our dreams go for a walk
sit with me, my coffee shop love

a coffee mug is deep and wide
they set rosquillas on the side
we talk of life's hard and life's sweet
together held
organize, philosophize,
critique, create, and realize
but maybe mostly
the gift is the moment
together here

some have the art of telling stories
some have the gift of distilling what's true
some share light with joy and compassion
I'm no performer, but let me tell you, I love you

To find these missing words

I've been joking these past several weeks that I've forgotten how to hold a normal conversation (optimistically assuming this is a skill I had at some point).  In some trauma and stress training activities from the other week, I learned that this is actually one of many potential normal responses to stressful situations.  Some of us experience something of thought-cramping in our head and have trouble beginning to unravel it.  At the same time, others (my wife) process by thinking out loud, which can make my processing and sharing that much slower.  Thanks to Rebekah for her patience with me in this.

(link if the player doesn't work)


To find these missing words

sun-stained paper folded in a bottle
floating on the waves
tumbling day after day
a long forgotten source, a long way from here
and an uncertain end
awaiting a friend

unknown
unheard
what will it take to find these missing words?
like a dream forgotten
that Daniel will tell
a hidden mystery
unveiled

these few written words, perhaps little to say
what will they become?
they may move no one
yet in being found, to emerge to the chance
is a hope tucked inside
captive of the tide

and might my thoughts wash up to your shore?
cannot be sure
and might I be looking for yours
looking for yours?

Like drops of water in an open hand

I've had some inspiration to share some songs again. Here's one that I had written some months back about one of our favorite spots in Nicaragua, the Laguna de Apoyo.  Like many places here, there is a volcanic history behind this crater lagoon, and it is today a beautiful area.  The water is fantastic; some say its minerals have therapeutic nature. And there is some great food and boats available at restaurants at points around the shore.

In the recent months, this song takes on some additional meaning.  I think about the vulnerability of people in times of unrest, the need for reconciliation in our societies, and the hope of something beautiful, as fragile as it may be, in the process.

Thanks also to Lia and Silas for their enthusiastic participation in the chorus. :)

(link if the player above doesn't work)


Like drops of water in an open hand

blue on blue
sky, lagoon
my feet resting in the water
rocking in a cradle
of an ancient crater
a floating dock above the deep

a violent past
a forceful blast
turning the land inside out
and in its wake
this quiet space
seems suspended outside of time

and here are we
in between
the dangerous and the serene
a simple man
among the lake and the land
like drops of water in an open hand

telling the tale
marvel at the scale
see here creation's resurrection
and from the ashes to rise
a divine surprise
life ascending from the deep

and mirrored, I
and all I despise
shadows around and within
bear a judge's load
or cast no more stones
invited, lifted, in the light