what inspires

along this present theme of inspiration, g asked a good question at our last community arts group gathering: "who and what inspire you in your work?"

hmmmmm. off the top of my head:

1) melancholy folksy type music tinged with hope and strewn with thoughtful lyrics. namely, groups like the weepies. i also discovered david mead recently and absolutely love him. there's something comforting about his music.... my favorite song of his is "little boats."

2) john donne. i discovered him in high school and have been in love with his poetry ever since. his holy sonnets are absolutely beautiful. my favorite is "batter my heart, three-person'd God":

Batter my heart, three-person'd God ; for you
As yet but knock ; breathe, shine, and seek to mend ;
That I may rise, and stand, o'erthrow me, and bend
Your force, to break, blow, burn, and make me new.
I, like an usurp'd town, to another due,
Labour to admit you, but O, to no end.
Reason, your viceroy in me, me should defend,
But is captived, and proves weak or untrue.
Yet dearly I love you, and would be loved fain,
But am betroth'd unto your enemy ;
Divorce me, untie, or break that knot again,
Take me to you, imprison me, for I,
Except you enthrall me, never shall be free,
Nor ever chaste, except you ravish me.

man. i want to write and speak and pray like that.

3) speaking of dead guys i'm into, saint augstine! if i could have a dead saint boyfriend (ok, i know that's weird on many levels), it would be augustine hands-down! i read from a collection of prayers from his 'confessions' daily and each reading is like a new breath that infuses passion into my own prayer life. wow.

i'm pretty sure if augustine were alive today, we'd be friends. :)

4) old people, in general. i love, love, love seeing an elderly couple shuffling down the street holding hands. gets me every time. something so poignant, enduring yet fragile about the image. a whole lifetime of joys and sorrows, victories and regrets, wisdom and experience framed in those two frail bodies. i love looking into their faces as well, peering through the lines and creases to catch the light in their eyes.

5) the cello. if i could have a do-over, i would have learned cello instead of violin. the sound is so rich and full, i actually feel my ribs and heart expanding when i hear a cello being played. and especially when the instrument is in the hands of a virtuoso such as yo-yo ma--man, that's heaven. i suppose i love the cello because the range and sound is so close to a human's voice. and the music that comes out of a cello articulates for me what i find inadequate with words.

so.
what inspires you?

cups of coffee: 1

mood: warm and cozy