December 06, 2001

peer pressure

Later on today, I'll be flying of to the other side of the country. I expect to
have some computer access, but I expect I'll only be able to update here
sporadically, if at all.

But today, I'm all about peer pressure. After reading href="http://comfortfood.diaryland.com">Comfortfood and D, I feel the need to
mention the chicken/sausage/shrimp gumbo I made the other day. I'd post the
recipe, but it's right out of the Bubba Gump cookbook, and I didn't change much,
other than to add in some Tony Chacere's Cajun seasoning, because I can't cook
Cajun or Creole without Tony. And how can you go wrong, with an entire cookbook
full of shrimp recipes? They claimed it would make 4.5 quarts, though, whereas my
gumbo boiled down sufficiently that we had just about enough for two dinners
(apiece), plus a lunch for me.

And, after reading Geni and href="http://mechaieh.diaryland.com">Mechaieh, not to mention my own early
entries, I realize how much more rarely I post poetry than I used to. I haven't
gotten started on the terza rima I wanted to do for Poetica, so instead, band because I'll be spending half
of today aloft, here's one of my favorites by Gerald Manley Hopkins. To Hopkins,
this was about Christ, but to me, it's about flying. Maybe there's not a total
disagreement there.

I CAUGHT this morning morningÕs minion, king-

dom of daylightÕs dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon, in his riding

Of the rolling level underneath him steady air, and striding

High there, how he rung upon the rein of a wimpling wing

In his ecstasy! then off, off forth on swing,

As a skateÕs heel sweeps smooth on a bow-bend: the hurl and gliding

Rebuffed the big wind. My heart in hiding

Stirred for a bird, o the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!

Brute beauty and valour and act, oh, air, pride, plume, here

Buckle! AND the fire that breaks from thee then, a billion

Times told lovelier, more dangerous, O my chevalier!

No wonder of it: shéer plód makes plough down sillion

Shine, and blue-bleak embers, ah my dear,

Fall, gall themselves, and gash gold-vermillion.

Today I am thankful for: Hopkins' swinging rhymes and mastery of words.
(And, descending to the mundane, also that my gumbo turned out well.)

Concept II Holiday Challenge: 85928 meters left

Posted by dichroic at December 6, 2001 04:59 PM
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