{"id":27327,"date":"2024-06-21T12:04:41","date_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:04:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/?p=27327"},"modified":"2024-06-21T12:04:49","modified_gmt":"2024-06-21T16:04:49","slug":"where-in-your-time-and-your-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2024\/06\/where-in-your-time-and-your-body\/","title":{"rendered":"Where in Your Time and Your Body"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"intrinsic-container intrinsic-container-16x9\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VMUz2TNMvL0?si=rak6-yHjryco0rYd\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"smalltext\"><em>[Video: Janice Ian performs &#8220;At Seventeen&#8221; on <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Old_Grey_Whistle_Test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Old Gray Whistle Test<\/a><em>, a British music show broadcast back in the 1970s-80s. I included this song in <a href=\"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/2011\/09\/midweek-music-break-haunting-songs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">a &#8220;Midweek Music Break&#8221; post<\/a> some years ago about &#8220;haunting&#8221; music, and still think it deserves that descriptor.]<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From <em data-afsc-id=\"1793\"><a data-afsc-id=\"6918\" href=\"http:\/\/whiskeyriver.blogspot.com\/2024\/06\/just-before-ocean-that-river-turns-on.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">whiskey river<\/a><\/em> (last stanza):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>Mother Talking in the Porch Swing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside the river is there a river?&#8212;<br>it could follow slow water the way<br>the real current follows a stiller<br>shore. And in your life the life that<br>hurries could pass, and pass its<br>open neighbor the earth, and its shore<br>the sky. To be here, and always to find<br>places in the current, the dreams<br>the river has&#8212;surely we bubbles<br>ought to tell about it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen: One of the rooms the river has<br>after its bridge and its bend in the mountains<br>is a place waiting for the sun every<br>afternoon, when the sun dwells<br>at a slant under a log and finds<br>that little yellow room and a waterbug<br>trying to learn circles but never making<br>one its shadow approves. Miles later<br>the river tries to recall that dream,<br>turning with all of its twisting self<br>that found gravel and found it good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just before the ocean that river<br>turns on its back and side and slowly<br>invites the world and the air and the sky,<br>trying to give away everything, everything.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(William Stafford [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=UydLCgAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA102#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;<a href=\"http:\/\/whiskeyriver.blogspot.com\/2024\/06\/you-neednt-to-search-for-any-hole-in.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">and<\/a>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>You needn&#8217;t to search for any hole in the ground to look through into somewhere else. You can&#8217;t go neither forwards nor backwards into your daddy&#8217;s time nor your children&#8217;s if you have them. In yourself right now is all the place you&#8217;ve got. If there was any Fall, look there, if there was any Redemption, look there, and if you expect any Judgment, look there, because they all three will have to be in your time and your body and where in your time and your body can they be?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Flannery O&#8217;Connor [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/gutenberg.ca\/ebooks\/oconnorf-wiseblood\/oconnorf-wiseblood-00-h.html#chapter10\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Not from <em>whiskey river<\/em>:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>XIII<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be ahead of all parting, as though it already were <br>behind you, like the winter that has just gone by. <br>For among these winters there is one so endlessly winter <br>that only by wintering through it will your heart survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be forever dead in Eurydice&#8212;more gladly arise <br>into the seamless life proclaimed in your song. <br>Here, in the realm of decline, among momentary days, <br>be the crystal cup that shattered even as it rang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be&#8212;and yet know the great void where all things begin, <br>the infinite source of your own most intense vibration, <br>so that, this once, you may give it your perfect assent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To all that is used-up, and to all the muffled and dumb <br>creatures in the world&#8217;s full reserve, the unsayable sums, <br>joyfully add your<em>self<\/em>, and cancel the count.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Rainer Maria Rilke [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=aVuMDQAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PA487#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;and:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>She had read an article on this caf\u00e9 in a magazine. The article had the headline &#8220;Uncovering Truth Behind &#8216;Time-Traveling Caf\u00e9&#8217; Made Famous by Urban Legend.&#8221; The gist of the article was as follows. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The caf\u00e9\u2019s name was Funiculi Funicula. It had become famous, with long queues each day, on account of the time-traveling. But it wasn\u2019t possible to find anyone who had actually gone back in time, because of the extremely annoying rules that had to be followed. The first rule was: <em>The only people you can meet while in the past are those who have visited the caf\u00e9.<\/em> This would usually defeat the purpose of going back. Another rule was: <em>There is nothing you can do while in the past that will change the present.<\/em> The caf\u00e9 was asked why that rule existed, but their only comment was that they didn\u2019t know. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the author of the article was unable to find anyone who had actually visited the past, whether or not it was actually possible to go back in time remained a mystery. Even supposing it was possible, the sticky point of not being able to change the present certainly made the whole idea seem pointless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The article concluded by stating that it certainly made an interesting urban legend, but it was difficult to see why the legend existed. As a postscript, the article also mentioned there were apparently other rules that had to be followed but it was unclear what these were.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Toshikazu Kawaguchi [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=MOPMDwAAQBAJ&amp;pg=PT19#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;and:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><strong>The Best Slow Dancer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Under the sagging clotheslines of crepe paper<br>By the second string of teachers and wallflowers<br>In the school gym across the key through the glitter<br>Of mirrored light three-second rule forever<br>Suspended you danced with her the best slow dancer<br>Who stood on tiptoe who almost wasn\u2019t there<br>In your arms like music she knew just how to answer<br>The question mark of your spine your hand in hers<br>The other touching that place between her shoulders<br>Trembling your countless feet lightfooted sure<br>To move as they wished wherever you might stagger<br>Without her she turned in time she knew where you were<br>In time she turned her body into yours<br>As you moved from thigh to secrets to breast yet never<br>Where you would be for all time never closer<br>Than your cheek against her temple her ear just under<br>Your lips that tried all evening long to tell her<br>You weren\u2019t the worst one not the boy whose mother<br>Had taught him to count to murmur over and over<br>One slide two slide three slide now no longer<br>The one in the hallway after class the scuffler<br>The double clubfoot gawker the mouth breather<br>With the wrong haircut who would never kiss her<br>But see her dancing off with someone or other<br>Older more clever smoother dreamier<br>Not waving a sister somebody else\u2019s partner<br>Lover while you went floating home through the air<br>To lie down lighter than air in a moonlit shimmer<br>Alone to whisper yourself to sleep remember.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(David Wagoner [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/books.google.com\/books?id=0OGwWzvT4MoC&amp;pg=PA169#v=onepage&amp;q&amp;f=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8230;and:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>How old would you be if you didn&#8217;t know how old you was?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>(Satchel Paige [<em><a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/dictionaryofcont0000eise\/page\/91\/mode\/1up\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">source<\/a><\/em>])<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[Video: Janice Ian performs &#8220;At Seventeen&#8221; on The Old Gray Whistle Test, a British music show broadcast back in the 1970s-80s. I included this song in a &#8220;Midweek Music Break&#8221; post some years ago about &#8220;haunting&#8221; music, and still think it deserves that descriptor.] From whiskey river (last stanza): Mother Talking in the Porch Swing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","h5ap_radio_sources":[],"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"federate","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Janice Ian, William Stafford, Toshikazu Kawaguchi, et al.: 'Where in Your Time and Body'","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[183,247,1393,74,4878,251],"tags":[759,1078,1345,2166,2584,3324,5928],"class_list":{"0":"post-27327","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-everyday-life","8":"category-ruminations","9":"category-whiskey-river-runningaftermyhat","10":"category-music","11":"category-fiction","12":"category-poetry-writing_cat","13":"tag-satchel-paige","14":"tag-rainer-maria-rilke","15":"tag-william-stafford","16":"tag-david-wagoner","17":"tag-janis-ian","18":"tag-flannery-oconnor","19":"tag-toshikazu-kawaguchi","20":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/janisianatseventeen.jpg?fit=845%2C500&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kZSG-76L","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27327","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27327"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27327\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27334,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27327\/revisions\/27334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/johnesimpson.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}