January 01, 2001: elephants all the way down
one wing
tonight, I am thinking of a child
named Blackbird, in a cold
and snowy place, far away.
she looks so much like her father,
who I loved and love still, that
my imagined eyes cloud a little
with tears.
My wish for you, child
of the new century,
is this:
keep close track of your longings
and know each one of them in detail;
knowing your desires is a fine bitter pleasure
and will keep you awake when nothing else will.
learn about magic.
illusion will stand you in good stead.
the past will reach into the present.
learn to love and lay to rest your memories.
and stay awake. do not pass your life
all in dreaming. love fiercely, whatever you love;
it's too fine a thing to be done by halves.
sleep, little blackbird, and remember.
you are loved, you are safe,
you are precious.
sleep.
Long, good weekend. There's too much detail and I'm being selfish with the memories right now. And I have to work in the morning and I'm currently in denial about this.
I'm almost over the damn cold, but my voice is currently mostly MIA. Annoyance. Hopefully, it'll be better tomorrow. I want to be able to talk without sounding vaguely froglike again!
Anyway. I'm scattered. I'm going to sleep, that will help.
