ghost nature

Käthe Kollwitz (1867–1945), “Das Letzte” (The Last Thing)

mask of the flayed man in the image of the sun / mask of the thimblerigger / mask of the ant mimic

mask of the husk / mask of the assassin / mask of the sorcerer

mask of the doll entwined / mask of the stretched man / mask of the conjurer

-

On the terrace outside the summer house. Lovely distant view of the countryside. Not so lovely looking back into the room. Nor into myself, there the screw keeps turning.

After all, I have still done so little; I am nothing; 

by Rainer Maria Rilke tr. Joanna Macy

Quiet friend who has come so far,

feel how your breathing makes more space around you. Let this darkness be a bell tower and you the bell. As you ring,

what batters you becomes your strength. Move back and forth into the change. What is it like, such intensity of pain? If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to wine.

In this uncontainable night, be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses, the meaning discovered there.

JULY!

Sound asleep. Health Habits. 1925.