3 – 5 November 2014

From Laura’s phone:

02:16

12:17

From Laura’s facebook:

14:37

14:40

15:43

21:14

4 November 2014. From Laura’s phone:

Laura sitting in the lounge of her apartment at Abidos Hotel/Apartments in Dubailand, Dubai.

15:22

14:11

16:28

5 November 2014. Posts from Laura’s facebook:

12:58

13:01

13:46

*******

Today, 5 November 2021. Two poems by Mary Oliver. I seek solace in her imagery of nature…

When I am Among the Trees

“When I am among the trees, especially the willows and the honey locust,

equally the beech, the oaks, and the pines,

they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness and discernment,

and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me, the trees stir in their leaves and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,“and you too have come into the world to do this,

to go easy, to be filled with light, and to shine.””

Watering the Stones

“Every summer I gather a few stones from the beach and keep them in a glass bowl.

Now and again I cover them with water, and they drink.

There’s no question about this; I put tinfoil over the bowl, tightly, yet the water disappears.

This doesn’t mean we ever have a conversation, or that they have the kind of feelings we do,

yet it might mean something.

Whatever the stones are, they don’t lie in the water and do nothing.

Some of my friends refuse to believe it happens, even though they’ve seen it.

But a few others—I’ve seen them walking down the beach holding a few stones,

and they look at them rather more closely now.

Once in a while, I swear, I’ve even heard one or two of them saying “Hello.”

Which, I think, does no harm to anyone or anything, does it?”