End of life as We Know It?

Nothing ends - all transforms,
changes direction like a river bends.
Day becomes night, bodies decompose
to feed roses, freeing spirits to roam.
When the earth dies (whether
at our hands or after peaceful millenia
orbiting a dying star) atoms from
Amazonian rainforests will become
part of some magnificent
beings we cannot imagine
on a helium atmosphered planet so far
away it seems beyond
the end of space.


The End for Sunday Scribblings

This poem has been translated into Spanish by Nia andcan be read as part of her post on composting.

haiku

shaking out
a thousand uncaged eyes -
the peacock shimmers.


written in response to Invitation to Poetry: Freedom at Abbey Arts

The Wild Blue Yonder

Last night we saw this film from eccentric genius director Werner Herzog. It centres on an alien who dissects human space travel to thought provoking effect. In the process he has a lot to say about valuing the earth. There is extensive re-contextualised use of footage (such as scenes under the Antarctic Ice) and appearances from NASA scientists proving that NASA has a sense of humour! The soundtrack is distinctive, featuring cellos and chanting. Its insightful and thought provoking, but I think it could have been cut without the message or atmosphere being lost.

Felt from Rabbit Fur

I discovered the following information on the felt making process, more detailed than the previous link I posted on the topic. I've now attempted to make some felt from our rabbit Anya's shed fur that we had collected while she was alive. It wasn't the most successful crafting experiment ever, I have to admit:

Problem number one, the fur had compressed too much while in storage, so was almost a felted lump to start with and it took a while to pull apart the fur. It also meant I didn't have as much fur as I thought I would, since some was unusable.

Problem number 2: I wasn't patient enough or thorough enough in my treatment of the fur. So rather than a nice uniform piece of felt, I have a raggedy mess. However as you can see from the photo there are definitely some bunny ears in there and I will use the rest as clouds in fabric collages. Plus it may look raggedy, but its a beautiful soft felt, just as you would expect to make from the fur of such a beautiful soft bunny!

Through an Open Window

Summer we open double glazed windows
to let in air, but this means
dirt from the city streets,
traffic noise, drunken chaos
from the bar on the corner, midnight
glass recycling from the same bar,
car alarms and fighting.

But sometimes, someone wanders
past singing Italian arias
and always birds
sing in the gardens.


An Open Window for Poetry Thursday

For another interpretation of the theme, please see my Alter Ego blog.

haiku - Tiny Pretty Things

dwarfed
by my fingernail -
golden beetle.

*********************

tiny shells
colourful on the sand -
sea recedes.


And another on Alter Ego.

Tiny Pretty Things for One Deep Breath

Consumerism and Recycling

We live in a very consumerist society and we need to reduce the amount we consume. However sometimes we need to buy things! Luis from Live Paths made a comment on a recent post here about the need to support companies that make products from recycled materials and other environmentally responsible companies. His blog offers a good guide to finding such companies and invites recommendations from readers. Here are just a few ideas for green consumerism, taken from my own shopping:


Buy locally produced, organic produce where possible - The Cyrenians organic farm is just outside Edinburgh and produces a good range of vegetables, fruits, preserves and eggs. They sell their produce in our office building and at Edinburgh Farmers Market, which happens every Saturday at Castle Terrace and sells meat and cheese as well as vegetables and other produce.

Buy toiletries made from natural ingredients. Yaoh is a company in the UK that produces organic, vegan bodycare products made from hemp with no more than one or two artificial additives and none of the dangerous ones.

Buy gifts made by local crafts people or make them yourself! I love to buy crafts from the craft fairs that spring up in Edinburgh during the Festival and at Christmas.

Buy second hand, Edinburgh is full of charity shops, selling second hand items to raise money for charities. These include specialist second hand shops for books and music.

These are just a few ideas, feel free to share your ideas in the comments!