notes from the kelp

June 18, 2008

Awww…

…listen
…about the music

A lullaby for this little one.

In front of my desk.
So adorable, as to inspire exceptionally mushy music.
I’ll see what I can do.

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Glenn Buttkus said,

June 19, 2008 @ 5:02 am

And here are even more wonderful animals from within the Shapiro Wildlife Sanctuary. I wonder if the doe had been there before? Perhaps she was bringing her little one for your delight and perusal. It certainly beats the view out of my office window at home, backyard and alley. Here at the VA though, on American Lake, wildlife of all sorts do make appearances from out of the forest on North Fort Lewis.

Your musical clip was adequately sentinmental, though not as sappy or sachrine as it might have been. It definitely is a lullaby–made me reach for my jammies and pillow and Poobear for sure. Yet, we all hunger for more data. Who was Zachary? The piece being called LULLABY FOR ZACHARY @ 2:34, was light hearted, and yet in your way deep in resonance, and in meaningful emotional jumps. What I saw as I listened were End Credits for a terrifically sentimental movie, and as the credits rolled, they were over first children’s faces, refugees, orphans, kids of the street, the children of the dump villages in Mexico, eyes full of hope, smiles still geniune–followed by little critters of all kinds with late spring flowers splashing the background–fawns of many colors and types, puppies of every variety, and kittens, domestic and wild, large and small, cubs of wolves, foxes, bear–even pacaderms, gorillas, and giraffes; all so cute, so precious that the music and the images brimmed our old eyes with tears of joy, delight, and hope for the future–for a tiny moment, with your tune still ringing in our innerness, fading, like a long echo, a marvelous naked moment of vulnerability before the onerous weight of our reality settles back down on our shoulders. Thanks for the respite.

Glenn
Glenn Buttkus said,

June 19, 2008 @ 5:39 am

Here, lady, try this on for size and temperment:

Lullaby for Zachary and Bambi

Alex has more visitors
appearing boldly
beneath her window,
interrupting her work ethic,
redirecting her focus,
as a doe with its spring fawn
stood like statues
with twitching ears
and the softest of eyes.

A few minutes
of a lullaby
for Zachary
also is dedicated
to the tiny spotted imp
with Bambiâ€™s grin,
and we listen to it
as we peer into the lens
and the heart
of the Shapiro Wildlife Sanctuary;
a lilting lullaby
that would make even the jaded
reach for pajamas,
soft blue blanket
and the one-eared Pooh Bear,
but it was more
than saccharine
and notes of syrup;
something resonating,
probing deep into our emotions.

What I witnessed
this morning
while listening,
were bold white letters,
the end credits
of some terrifically sentimental movieâ€”
and as the credits rolled,
there were childrenâ€™s faces;
refugees,
orphans,
spawn of the streets,
the kids of the dump villages
in Mexico, India, Africa, and Louisianaâ€”
eyes full of hope
and longing,
with little smiles still
genuineâ€”
morphing into baby critters
of all kinds,
with late spring flowers splashing
the background;
fawns of many colors and types,
puppies of every breed,
kittens,
domestic and wild,
small and large,
cubs
of wolves, foxes, and bearâ€”
even pachyderms, gorillas, and giraffes;
all
so cute,
so precious that
our old eyes brimmed with tears
of joy, delight, and hope
for the future,
springing and welling up
eternalâ€”
and for a small moment
with Alexâ€™s music
still ringing in our innerness,
then gently fading,
like a long echo,
we enjoyed
a marvelously naked shard
of vulnerabilityâ€”
until the silence
that followed
broke over us like the raging waters
of a dirty flood,
carrying with it
the onerous weight
of our lives, our reality.

Thank you, Alex,
for our temporary respite;
our weightless
flight.

Glenn Buttkus June 2008
Alex Shapiro said,

June 19, 2008 @ 8:11 am

Awww… thanks Glenn. Your imagination is wonderfully visual! Yes, this pair has been walking around my property for the past couple of weeks; mom must feel safe here and so decided to show junior not only the ropes, but the most expensive and delicious plants to consume! Ha ha. Charles and I have a firm policy about no fencing, and that means that whatever the denizen here want to eat, they can eat. So over the course of a year I figure out what they DON’T like to eat (a very short list indeed) and then can plant more of that.

The Zachary in question is the son of a friend of mine. I put that track together in the mid-nineties shortly after he was born, as a gift. It never was used for anything professionally, but I pull it out from time to time for it’s sweet/cute/darling “Disney” factor. Awwww.