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Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

“Walk out onto the planet tonight. Even the moon is giving back your share of borrowed light and you take it back, in the name of everything you can’t take back in your life.”

-David Clewell
“New Year’s Eve Letter to Friends”
poetrydispatch.wordpress.com/2007/10/14/d...
#poetry

Page 1 of 2

DAVID
NEW YEAR'S EVE LETTER TO FRIENDS
Every year the odds are stacked against it turning out the way you'd like: a year of smooth, a year of easy smile, a year like a lake you could float on, looking up at a blue year of soothing sky.
Mostly the letters you're expecting never come.
Lovers walk out and keep on going and in no time they're no friends of yours.
Mostly, the sheer weight of days gone awfully wrong: a tire blown out, someone's heart caving in,
the hole worn finally through the roof.
Sometimes it's only a few tenacious cells digging in against complete dissolve.
The smallest strand of DNA, stretched thin over thousands of years, goes taut and finally holds.
I've watched men at the Mission staring out into the middle distance,
putting up with the latest version of salvation, all the time wondering just how long until the bowl and spoon.
They've been around enough to know the good part's always saved for last and there's no promise they won't make to get there.
Each year cuts our lives down to size, to something we can almost use. So we find it somewhere in our hearts: another ring shows up when we lay open the cross-section.
One more hard line in the hand spreading slowly out of its clench.
It used to be the world was so small you could walk out to the end of it

Page 2 of 2

and back in a single day. Now it seems to take all year to make it mostly back.
And so this is for my friends all over: a new year. Year the longshot comes home.
The year letters pour in, full of the good word that never got as far as you before.
The year lovers come to know a good thing when they find it in the press of familiar flesh.
Walk out onto the planet tonight. Even the moon is giving back your share of borrowed light and you take it back, in the name of everything you can't take back in your life.
Imagine yourself filling with it, letting yourself go and floating through the skeleton trees to your place at the top of the sky.
And here's the best part, coming last, just after all your practiced shows of faith.
Even now, while you're still salvaging what passes for resolve.
Remember this, no matter what else happens: this year you'll never go without.
It's no small thing you've been in line for, this bowl and spoon passed finally to you.

December 4, 2025 at 7:11 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Shocking!

People standing around at a party talking, all with extreme downturned unhappy faces.
Caption:
"I read this article and it said that, apparently, there was a time in our history when we didn't all stagger around in horrified disbelief.”

December 4, 2025 at 7:53 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Music mail!
🐌 However…Presto Music is not living up to its tempo marking. Ordered these & some vinyl back in September, just arrived today.
Regardless, listening spree ahead! A sample:

Música d’Outrora performing Albertini. Sonatinae: Sonata No 10
youtu.be/3_IPFiGCmmk?...

#ClassicalMusic

Stack of CDs on a chair painted in an abstract manner, primarily red, acid green, black, white.
CD titles, top to bottom:

- Philharmonica/ Le Consort
- voice / Hirnomi
- Still Life / MÚSICA D'OUTRORA
- CPE BACH GRAUN HESSE / LUCILE BOULANGER, ARNAUD DE PASQUALE
- IL CEMBALO TRANSALPINO / Yates
- SCHUBERT
Symphonie Inachevée n° 8 & Grande Symphonie nº9 / LE CONCERT DES NATIONS
- LES FRÈRES FRANCŒUR / THÉOTIME LANGIOIS DE SWARTE, JUSTIN TAYLOR
CHAND

December 3, 2025 at 2:29 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Herschel’s track record: Discovered Uranus, 000’s of stars & nebulae
Bus station design inspired by one of his experiments (thanks, Slough!).
Introduced the word ‘asteroid.’
Day job: Court astronomer.

And, he composed a lot with all that leftover free time.
Kid sister was no slouch, either.

Left: Portrait of William Herschel, 18th c garb.
Right: Cartoon of solar system. All planets are labeled “peanut free” except Earth, which is labeled “may contain nuts.”
Title: Simplified solar system.

December 3, 2025 at 9:38 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

(Text)

What will I do without Euridice?
Where will I go without my beloved?
Euridice? Euridice?
Oh, God! Answer me! Answer me!
I am surely ever faithful to you!
I am surely ever faithful to you!
Ever faithful to you!
What will I do without Euridice?
Where will I go without my beloved?
What will I do, where will 1 go, What am I going to do without my beloved?
Where will I go without my beloved?
Euridice! Euridice!
Ah! I cannot go on.
No longer help, no longer hope,
Neither from the world nor the heavens!
What will I do without Euridice?

Che farò senza Euridice?
Dove andrò senza il mio ben?
Euridice! Euridice!
Oh Dio! Rispondi!...Rispondi!
lo son pure il tuo fedel!
Io son pure il tuo fedel!
Io tuo fedel!
Che farò senza Euridice?
Dove andrò senza il mio ben?
Che faro, Dove andrò
Che faro senza il mio ben?
Dove andrò senza il mio ben?
Euridice! Euridice!
Ah! non m'avanza
Più soccorso, più speranza, Nè dal mondo, nè dal ciel!
Che farò senza Euridice?

December 3, 2025 at 2:04 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Excellent point (I used an old meme…) Ummmm, I’ve got this!! 😆
Personally, I feel lucky to have 8 independents within easy walking distance. So, the question becomes “Hipster breakfast, civilized literary crowd, or the writers…?” and “Who serves chocolate covered beans with their espresso setup?!”

Woman ordering at a coffee shop counter.
Leipzig Tourist Trap
STARBACHS COFFEE

“Guten tag.
I'd like a Well-
Tempered Caramel Macchiato and a slice of that there
Partita Pound
Cake.”

December 1, 2025 at 12:58 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Coffee Cantata seems appropriate right about now.

Netherlands Bach Society performing “Schweigt stille, plaudert nicht” BWV 211 (aka, the Coffee Cantata)
youtu.be/B6Loyexw3uk?...
#needcoffee #ClassicalMusic

Portrait of JS Bach, holding a latte drink.
“WITHOUT MY MORNING COFFEE
I'M JUST LIKE A DRIED-UP PIECE OF ROAST GOAT
- THE COFFEE CANTATA”

December 1, 2025 at 12:51 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

How anyone fell for the Piasa Bird legend is beyond me. I have to stop & giggle whenever I pass it—like today, driving the Great River road along the Mississippi.

“The name "Piasa" comes from the Illinowek language and means "a bird that devours men".

You *must* listen to the song.

Piasa Bird on the side of a limestone bluff, flanked by large caves.
The Piasa Bird is a mythical creature from Native American folklore, famously depicted in a mural on bluffs near Alton, Illinois. European explorers like Jacques Marquette first documented it in 1673 as a winged monster with features like a man's face, eagle-like wings, and a long tail. A later, widely circulated but fabricated story from author John Russell falsely claimed the Piasa Bird was a man-eating monster slain by a heroic chief.

November 30, 2025 at 6:30 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

I planned on turning in early, give sleep a fair chance.
Instead I’m here, wide awake, keeping company with everything that wants thinking through.
Looks like it’s going to be a longer tougher night than advertised.

Papilla Estelar: Remedios Varo

Papilla Estelar features a female seated in a small room that is sucking star stuff into a mill, feeding the processed star stuff to a caged moon. Varo painted Papilla Estelar in 1958 after she fled to Mexico; the art community in Mexico was not welcoming to the European artists. (1) The small space and caged moon creates a sense of being trapped and isolated, perhaps a reflection of how Varo felt in Mexico isolated from her homeland. However, the milled star stuff represents hope and the action of feeding it to the moon is an attempt to transform hope into an opportunity. (2) This painting reminds the viewer of the hope that comes out of trials and that light comes from within and that it is the viewers job to harness it.

More about Remedios Varo https://nmwa.org/art/artists/remedios-varo/

November 30, 2025 at 4:07 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Nite, peeps.
—-
When He Holds Out His Hands, Bees Stream from His Fingertips
by REBECCA ELLIOTT

“…but at night they circle down again in long arcs toward his ears and their wings make breathy winds and whisper things, like maybe, and radiant, and tomorrow afternoon the answer.”
#poetry

When He Holds Out His Hands, Bees Stream from His Fingertips
by Rebecca Elliott

http://www.ucityreview.com/3_Elliott_Rebecca.html#fromhisfingertips

He stands near the hives behind his father's house with one finger pointed at each of the stars. The light from the bathroom window presses into the grass, the grass presses into his ankles,
and it's true that every time he tries to raise his hand the other students duck, and when he points at the window the bees rush to knock themselves out rhythmically against the glass,
but at night they circle down again in long ares toward his ears and their wings make breathy winds and whisper things, like maybe, and radiant, and tomorrow afternoon the answer.

November 30, 2025 at 2:25 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

If it’s snowing, it’s time for inspiration from Calvin and his snowmen…
#stlwx #calvinandhobbes

Calvin and Hobbes the tiger discuss Calvin’s latest snowman.

Hobbes: WHATS THIS SNOWMAN?
Calvin: HE'S A PALEONTOLOGIST
HE'S LOOKING FOR CRETACEOUS SNON DINOSAURS
Hobbes: WHY DOES HE LOOK SO SAD?
Calvin: HE REALIZED THAT SNOW DOESNT FOSSILIZE. IT JUST MELTS
Hobbes: YOUR SNOWMEN LEAD TRAGIC
LIVES
Calvin: WELL, THEY'RE NOT VERY BRIGHT.

November 29, 2025 at 4:15 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

The party scene at my house tonight:
Knitting cadence set by Hellendaal Grand Concertos Op 3.
Reading when hands get tired.
Plus, multitasking with cleaning the fridge by nibbling on leftovers.
Calming evening, despite busy brain.
#ClassicalMusic
youtu.be/5pdDzO6_w2Q?...

Knitting project and ball of blue yarn sitting on top of 3 books: Vaclav Havel essays, Five Lives in Music, and Sjngjng Like Germans. Mug in background

November 29, 2025 at 2:41 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

I’m in serious trouble on this one…!

Woman packing, says to other woman:
"My family likes to set up our grudges at Thanksgiving, stew over them through
December, then take our revenge at Christmas."

November 27, 2025 at 2:56 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Grateful that holidays in recent years haven’t required an explanation, a therapist, or a demo by finger puppets to answer stuff like, “What’d’ya do for Thanksgiving?” Life settled well, and feels more chosen than inherited.

Thinking of everyone spending the holiday quietly, in their own company.

Photo: Two male+female couples in Edwardian garb, leaning back in a kind of dance line, hands raised chest-high, looking at the camera.

November 27, 2025 at 2:34 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Are you facing the Thanksgiving dilemma this week? Ah, the ages-old decision between spending it in family chaos, or spending it in peaceful solitude.
One comes with judgment
but the other comes with pie you don’t have to share. (Just trying to help)
#Thanksgiving

Two women and a man sitting at a dinner table laden with lots of food dishes.
Speech bubble over one woman: “FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH, HONEY, YOUR TURKEY ISN'T NEARLY AS DISAPPOINTING AS LAST TIME”

Title at bottom: Thanksgiving. Keeping therapists busy since 1621.

November 25, 2025 at 2:35 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Good morning, fabulous humans.
Let’s get this Monday party started by cranking up some Emma Kirby wake-up music.
Arne’t* you glad it’s a new week?
lynkify.in/song/rosamun...

#ClassicalMusic #needcoffee #goidmorning
*Music nerd joke.

The dinosaurs didn't drink coffee and we all know how that turned out.

Recording cover: photo of a woman with curly red hair smiling. On the right, album overview:

Emma Kirkby sings Handel, Arne, Haydn & Mozart
The Academy of Ancient Music
Christopher Hogwood

November 24, 2025 at 11:52 AM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

💅

Family in car, dad is driving. Road stretches ahead.
Kid in back seat: “Mom, Dad! I have ennui!”
Dad: “Well, you should have made peace with the absurdity of human existence before we started driving!”
Caption: “Dad eventually pulled over at a frozen lake, which represented the sublime beauty of impermanence, but he was pretty annoyed about it.”

November 23, 2025 at 6:14 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

St. Cecilia, patron saint of music and musicians, quietly regretting her career choices since the 2nd century.
#StCecilia #ClassicalMusic

A young woman in a red dress with white sleeves and a loose white headwrap holds a small bowed string instrument, a viola da gamba. She is looking upward with a calm unsmiling expression.
Caption: When the continuo player starts adding ‘just a few’ improvised chords and suddenly it’s jazz night in 1634.

November 22, 2025 at 11:29 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Heading over to SLAM this morning for the Wim Wenders* film “Anselm” being shown in 3D.
Museum admission is always free, major exhibit and film tix are free, but tix needed to get into the film.

Scroll down to “Events” for dates/times & tix.
www.slam.org/exhibitions/...
#SLAM #STL #artsky

Film advertisement.
Top title: Saint Louis Art Museum
Man standing in foreground, looking at massive pieces in the shadows.
Title: Anselm, a film by Wim Wenders

November 22, 2025 at 12:55 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Missouri: Slinger. Hashbrowns, a couple eggs, burger patty, slathered in chili and topped with cheese and onions. Additional breakfast meat and hot sauce served on the side.
(best sampled in Columbia MO at 2AM, I’m sure)
#STL

Skillet with a Missouri Slinger. Hashbrowns, a couple eggs, burger patty, slathered in chili and topped with cheese and onions.

November 19, 2025 at 5:29 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Word.

A boy and girl playing checkers.
Boy: THIS GAME IS CALLED "MEDIA FACT CHECKERS."
Girl: HOW DOES IT WORK?
Boy: I CHEAT, THEN TELL EVERYONE YOU'RE A LIAR.

November 19, 2025 at 1:22 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Me, after listening to five discs back-to-back of the newly-released complete works of Couperin.

Couperin, Suite en fa: I. Allemande, G.67 youtu.be/GAUSAocE8Vk?...
#ClassicalMusic

Disheveled and drooling woman slouched in a chair.
The original title of the McPhail cartoon was “High on Cancelled Plans”

November 18, 2025 at 5:16 PM

Lisa

@lisasass.bsky.social

Monday
Alex Dimitrov
I was just beginning
to wonder about my own life and now I have to return to it regardless of the weather or how close I am to love.
Doesn't it bother you sometimes
what living is, what the day has turned into?

BWV 156 Sinfonia
#ClassicalMusic #Poetry
youtu.be/0I-yf0Gjoas?...