HOLD ON TIGHT

HE SAID, MARIE, MARIE, HOLD ON TIGHT And when we were children, staying at the archduke's, My cousin's, he took me out on a sled, And I was frightened. He said, Marie, Marie, hold on tight. And down we went. In the mountains, there you feel free. I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter. ~ The Waste Land, "The Burial of The Dead", Eliot Sunday, August 19, 2007 the breaking of all spells left at 4-ish, arrived home 11-ish. my mother and father were waiting for me. i am pragmatic about entrances and exits. the important thing is not to regret. got into new york, then ithaca. in ithaca, miles away, i returned to the person i left months ago, reentered his life. i haven't seen his face for half a year, will not for almost another half. it is a different kind of poetry here, not lyric poetry, there are no complex metaphors to this life i have chosen. this does not make it simple, but it makes what needs to be done clearer. this time, there is no desire, no free-falling. love, like ironing, like the folding of daily necessities, heroic daily acts and choices, enduring choices. the father asked what i was doing for thanksgiving, if i wanted to go back to the place where we spent last spring, where he took me out on a sled, said Marie, Marie, hold on tight. his sister complains of how he is too intellectual for conversation, that she can never win an argument with him, that he is like his father. we laugh, and i tell her the only arguments i have won, i have won by force. traveling from singapore makes me feel light, too light to write. i love singapore too much, i am too involved with people, the place is swarming with memories. away, my heart ceases to brim. maybe here i will learn that the purest form of joy, unlike crystals and salts, cannot be distilled in the form of laughter. and perhaps love, as it is written, is the breaking of all spells, even its own. posted by dawn # 7:54 PM Comments: sigh. i hope everything will be okay. haha i only talk in !!! when i am happy which is when i am here and not thinking about going back. but its okay! we will be strong! -hug- btw, my mama says hi! # posted by Anonymous : 8:04 AM oh man where are the !!!s? you going back soon? silly, you will be fine. say hi to your mama for me:) i am going to say hi to her the next time i come back! which is dec! :) # posted by Dawn Lim : 3:07 PM your writing is beautiful but somehow always rather sad. stumbled upon your blog from various other links. i don't know if you remember me, we were in the same primary school. # posted by M : 4:21 AM mel from uchicago who was working in the deli :) hello!! i'm not a sad person actually. i didn't know you were such a splendid cook (clicked on your profile, and saw pictures of muffins and chocolate thingies! # posted by Dawn Lim : 6:21 AM Post a Comment << Home		[publishing] Publishers Weekly . Dystel & Goderich . New York Center for Independent Publishing . Association of American University Presses . Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators [people] clarisse . nurul . aunty zarina (ummi's bakery) . jeremy . pak . cyril . softblow . karen & kenny (booksactually) . eric . joel . [other loves] digitaljournalist . ballet dictionary . poetshouse . urbanwordnyc [me] dawn, singapore, new york city, ithaca. [yesterday] now that she's back in the atmosphere i am in ithaca now, learning new roads, navigating... we've known each other since we were 9 or 10 ANNOUNCEMENT! excess luggage In the sun i have been operating on two time zones for the pa... certain places reminder from rich this has been one of the happiest weeks of my life... [archives] January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009

HE SAID, MARIE, MARIE, HOLD ON TIGHT

And when we were children, staying at the archduke's,
My cousin's, he took me out on a sled,
And I was frightened. He said, Marie,
Marie, hold on tight. And down we went.
In the mountains, there you feel free.
I read, much of the night, and go south in the winter.

~ The Waste Land, "The Burial of The Dead", Eliot

Sunday, August 19, 2007

the breaking of all spells

left at 4-ish, arrived home 11-ish. my mother and father were waiting for me. i am pragmatic about entrances and exits. the important thing is not to regret. got into new york, then ithaca. in ithaca, miles away, i returned to the person i left months ago, reentered his life. i haven't seen his face for half a year, will not for almost another half. it is a different kind of poetry here, not lyric poetry, there are no complex metaphors to this life i have chosen. this does not make it simple, but it makes what needs to be done clearer. this time, there is no desire, no free-falling. love, like ironing, like the folding of daily necessities, heroic daily acts and choices, enduring choices. the father asked what i was doing for thanksgiving, if i wanted to go back to the place where we spent last spring, where he took me out on a sled, said Marie, Marie, hold on tight. his sister complains of how he is too intellectual for conversation, that she can never win an argument with him, that he is like his father. we laugh, and i tell her the only arguments i have won, i have won by force.

traveling from singapore makes me feel light, too light to write. i love singapore too much, i am too involved with people, the place is swarming with memories. away, my heart ceases to brim. maybe here i will learn that the purest form of joy, unlike crystals and salts, cannot be distilled in the form of laughter. and perhaps love, as it is written, is the breaking of all spells, even its own.

posted by dawn # 7:54 PM

Comments:

sigh. i hope everything will be okay. haha i only talk in !!! when i am happy which is when i am here and not thinking about going back. but its okay! we will be strong! -hug- btw, my mama says hi!

# posted by

Anonymous : 8:04 AM

oh man where are the !!!s? you going back soon? silly, you will be fine. say hi to your mama for me:) i am going to say hi to her the next time i come back! which is dec! :)

# posted by

Dawn Lim : 3:07 PM

your writing is beautiful but somehow always rather sad. stumbled upon your blog from various other links. i don't know if you remember me, we were in the same primary school.

# posted by

M : 4:21 AM

mel from uchicago who was working in the deli :) hello!! i'm not a sad person actually. i didn't know you were such a splendid cook (clicked on your profile, and saw pictures of muffins and chocolate thingies!

# posted by

Dawn Lim : 6:21 AM