February 3rd, 2011
by Dianne Bilyak
In our world nothing sets, it turns.
Galileo observed this through a weak lens,
saw the strongest of Jupiter’s moons
as four points of light
shifting their positions in time.
And even when he could not,
he discovered they were only
concealed by the cyclic eclipses
of steady, celestial motion,
by rotations herding the galaxy
to keep its outer rim sharp.
She was like that planet
carrying twice the weight
of all the others combined,
her red eye set to glare,
her surface pulsating with
temperatures so extreme
landing was futile.
I told her, try this:
open the mouth and say Ah,
then Ah Lay, then Ah Lay Lu,
then all of them together
with a Ya at the end.
This is joy.
It doesn’t come at once,
it comes in pieces
like stairs and lifts you.
Or swings like a gate in the wind.
When it’s slightly ajar
you should push through,
wander around,
maybe sing.
February 1st, 2011
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “Digging Through” at her blog, Sit and Eat.
January 25th, 2011
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “Knowing and KNOWING” at her blog, Sit and Eat.
January 19th, 2011
The notes from our January 8 Community Meeting are up. Give them a read and send any responses you might have to Emily by January 26th!
January 19th, 2011
by Adam Zagajewski
In a small black town, your town,
where even trains linger unwilling,
anxious to be on their way,
in a park, defying soot and shadows,
a gray building stands lined with mother-of-pearl.
Forget the snow, the frost’s repeated blows;
inside you’re greeted by a damp anthology of breezes
and the enigmatic whispers of vast leaves
coiled like lazy snakes. Even an Egyptologist
couldn’t make them out.
Forget the sadness of dark stadiums and streets,
the weight of thwarted Sundays.
Accept the warm breath wafting from the plants.
The gentle scent of faded lightning
engulfs you, beckoning you on.
Perhaps you see the rusty sails of ships at port,
islands snared in rosy mist, crumbling temples’ towers;
you glimpse what you’ve lost, what never was,
and people with lives
like your own.
Suddenly you see the world lit differently,
other people’s doors swing open for a moment,
you read their hidden thoughts, their holidays don’t hurt,
their happiness is less opaque, their faces
almost beautiful.
Lost yourself, go blind from ecstasy,
forgetting everything, and then perhaps
a deeper memory, a deeper recognition will return,
and you’ll hear yourself saying: I don’t know how–
the palm trees opened up my greedy heart.
–read at St. Lydia’s on January 16
January 17th, 2011
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “A Place Called Wilderness” at her blog, Sit and Eat.
January 13th, 2011
Our wonky star, crooked but held aloft, steadfast and true, by Michael.
Traditional New Orleans King’s Cake!
Crystal found the baby Jesus, now she will have good luck for a year.
No Epiphany is complete without a creepy baby Jesus pic.
See the rest of the Epiphany Album on our Picasa page.
January 13th, 2011
(excerpt)
by Michael Dickman
Our crowns look nothing like his crown
needles and light and
needles of light
fingers
stamen
Our crowns are made of dead hair and get swept out with the trash
or ripped out by hand
Our capes are bath towels
wrapped around our necks
and fastened with
giant safety pins
Not ermine, not
rabbits
I ran around the neighborhood playing King of the Block
in my red underwear
The trees didn’t bow
I was not on fire
as he
passed by
January 11th, 2011
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “Waiting and Following,” on her blog, Sit and Eat.
January 6th, 2011
Adapted for Lydia’s (we multiplied by 3, added tofu and served it over a brown rice/wild rice/barley mix) from Bon Appetit magazine, this Caribbean Coconut succotash was a major hit. We’ll definitely be making this one again.
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh or frozen double-peeled fava beans, butter beans, or baby lima beans (about 9 ounces), thawed
3/4 cup diced peeled carrots
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup diced red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup diced unpeeled Persian cucumber or English hothouse cucumber
3/4 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
Large pinch of cayenne pepper
Large pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Cook fava beans in large saucepan of boiling salted water until just tender, about 5 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer fava beans to medium bowl. Add diced carrots to same saucepan of boiling water; cook until carrots are tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and transfer carrots to small bowl.
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, diced zucchini, diced bell pepper, pressed garlic cloves, and minced fresh thyme. Sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add corn, diced cucumber, and reserved carrots; stir 1 minute. Add beans, unsweetened coconut milk, cayenne pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg. Stir until heated through, about 1 minute. Season succotash to taste with salt and pepper.
We added sauteed tofu to the mix, just for fun!
Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caribbean-Succotash-363249#ixzz1AI1ht27w
-prepared by Richard and Paul at St. Lydia’s on January 2, 2011
