Public Posts Seattle, WA Seattle, WA (zoom)

Lean into my shoulder.
Match your pace to my gait,
for I will protect you.
This is my pledge and fate.

I'm writing these words,
which left my brain
and now appear on
the tip of my pen.
Do you suppose the words are
from the ink in the pen,
not from the inside, my gray,
old brain, full of love,
as it should remain?

You came to me,
in a vision,
I soon lost.
Unable to find
the image again.
Was it good
as I dreamt
it to be,
or just another
of my fantasies?

Why are you lonely?
There are people around,
who care for you.
There are friends to be found,
wherever you go.
Who will support you
and other friends you know.

When the dream dies.
When your hopes go away.
When you realize,
Life is no longer a play
about controlling your life.

Please, can't you
say to me,
how you miss all
of my good company.

Here's to you,
daughter of mine,
who only exists
in the back of my mind.
My wife wanted two Sons,
which we now have.
They are both great,
but a father, without a daughter,
is in my minds travesty.
I love all the women
who came into my life,
but love intensely,
the one who's my wife.

At this time in life
my physical ability
is out paced by
my physical practicality.
Don't worry about me
my physical romancality.
He's safe, he's old,
my physical fragility
is dangerously close to
my physical finality.

The shadows grow long,
as daylight disappears,
for the days are shorter
this time of the year.
The Sun sets with a whimper,
on this clearest night
as darkness falls
and the cold takes its bite.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What happening above that volcano? Something very unusual -- a volcanic light pillar. More typically, light pillars are caused by sunlight and so appear as a bright column that extends upward above a rising or setting Sun. Alternatively, other light pillars -- some quite colorful -- have been recorded above street and house lights. This light pillar, though, was illuminated by the red light emitted by the glowing magma of an erupting volcano. The volcano is Italy's Mount Etna, and the featured image was captured with a single shot a few hours after sunset in mid-June. Freezing temperatures above the volcano's ash cloud created ice-crystals either in cirrus clouds high above the volcano -- or in condensed water vapor expelled by Mount Etna. These ice crystals -- mostly flat toward the ground but fluttering -- then reflected away light from the volcano's caldera. Explore Your Universe: Random APOD Generator

Photo by Giancarlo Tinè

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862).  American naturalist, philosopher, poet, and essayist. He is best known for his book "Walden" or "Life in the woods", a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state.

NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day:

What is that light in the sky? Perhaps one of humanity's more common questions, an answer may result from a few quick observations. For example -- is it moving or blinking? If so, and if you live near a city, the answer is typically an airplane, since planes are so numerous and so few stars and satellites are bright enough to be seen over the din of artificial city lights. If not, and if you live far from a city, that bright light is likely a planet such as Venus or Mars -- the former of which is constrained to appear near the horizon just before dawn or after dusk. Sometimes the low apparent motion of a distant airplane near the horizon makes it hard to tell from a bright planet, but even this can usually be discerned by the plane's motion over a few minutes. Still unsure? The featured chart gives a sometimes-humorous but mostly-accurate assessment. Dedicated sky enthusiasts will likely note -- and are encouraged to provide -- polite corrections. Chart translations: Spanish, Italian, Polish, Kannada, Latvian, Norwegian, and Turkish

Photo by The League of Lost Causes