Pulling the String

I woke this morning in a mood.   I suppose I don’t have to specify what kind of mood it was … in a mood has acquired its own connotation of BAD.   On days like this, it is sometimes a labor to drag my old ass to our office to do what I call my Morning Practice.  A few spiritual readings, journaling, a prayer or two, and a gratitude list.   I close with poem from Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems and an impressionist painting of the day in A Year in Impressionism.  I am not a poetry guy … I’d say 35% the time I don’t really get the days poem but maybe 10% of the time, one will really move me.  Today was such a day.  The poem was Woolworth’s by Mark Irwin.  It is a wondrously simple reminiscence about wandering into a Woolworth’s Five and Ten (that was cents, people) on a cold winter’s day.  You can read it here, if you are interested.   On those days when I find a poem, I usually spend some time Pulling the String on the web for information about the poet and to see what anyone else thinks about the poem.  Google Mark Irwin.  Google Mark Irwin’s Woolworth’s.  Google Woolworth’s.

The first link I found was author Allison McGhee’s WordPress blog, Poem of the Week, which provided the link to Woolworth’s above.  The post of Woolworth’s was dated Dec 10, 2011.  So many times, when I find an interesting blog, it is no longer alive, but by clicking the Blog link at the top of the page, I found McGhee’s to be alive and well, here.  Another Pull on the String led me to The Writer’s Almanac by (wait for it) Garrison Keillor, the author of my morning poetry book.  Almanac also offers a poem of the day, along with a true almanac of things that happened on the day, from birthdays of well-known people to historical events.  Fun reading.  Unfortunately, this blog was retired in 2014 and the note at the top of the page says “For entries after July 2014, please visit our new website.  Clicking that link yield this

Forbidden: You don’t have permission to access /episodes/ on this server.

Some strings lead somewhere, and some don’t.  Another link led to Impromptu Promptings, another (beautiful) WordPress Blog that invites you to join a shy but curious pilgrim-seeker on a journey of unexpected adventures and soul spelunking as she tries to figure out the world around her, who she really is, and whether or not she wants to be writer. Fellow travelers are always welcome!  It is filled with philosophy, humor and links to poems and literature.  Sounds familiar.  I will be going back to see how her journey compares to mine.

OK, this is definitely a ramble and I suppose besides lifting my mood, it ought to have a point.   So often these days I read about people who find themselves following a string down the Q-Anon wormhole, where they end up misinformed, paranoid and rejected by their friends and family who can see what crap they’ve swallowed.   And yet.  If they would start with something useful, beautiful or informative (and most of all true), then Pulling the String can lead them to more of the same.  If only.

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Tags: internet, legacy blogs, poems, writing and blogging

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