Hilton Head Island: words not quite spoken; Spain: poems

 8:30 PM.  I am on our screened porch, looking out at a grey and green-black world.  Only 81F and comfortable with the fan on over head.

I woke around 5 AM this morning.  Poured a half glass of grapefruit juice and made coffee, and retired to read the reports of the most recent vacillations by our so-called government in the conflict—not war—with Iran.  I planned to bike down and touch up the port side of GANNET’s topsides, but when I checked my weather apps, all said that rain would fall this morning, so I didn’t.

Heavy rain did fall today within a few miles of here.  More than three inches in some places.  But not a drop on us.  So there is tomorrow.  

The world is filled with people who do not have enough time.

I have always had enough time.  I still do until I do not.  

So I’ll go down tomorrow.

It is a common, almost universal, mindset of our species to expect present conditions to continue into the indefinite future.  

I know better and have written a book titled A SINGLE WAVE because I know life can change in an instant, in the passing of a single wave, or an earthquake, or a flood, or a word.  

Life is at risk every moment, even though most do not know that.  And some words once spoken can never be retracted.  

So today some words were on the brink and they were not spoken.  

Of course I watched France/Spain in the World Cup semi-final today.  Going in I expected France would win.  They have appeared to be the strongest team thus far, but Spain is exceedingly difficult to score against.  I think they have allowed only one goal so far in this competition.  So they won.

I deplore that many players on both teams frequently engaged in dives.  Win at all cost has clearly supplanted honor.

I am reading two very long poetry anthologies.   One is called POEM COLLECTION and is 2206 pages long, a lot of which I have not admired.  The other is AN ANTHOLOGY OF CLASSICAL JAPANESE POETRY and is 1581 pages long.  Usually I read ten pages of a poetry book each morning, but of these I read twenty-five.  I often relate more to the ancient Chinese and Japanese, but here are four that I have I have enjoyed recently from the West, including one of adventure and perhaps you know what I think of adventure, but this is what I once felt.