Psalm for my Sister

this is the poem i wrote my sister for her graduation, since i couldn't be there in person...

Psalm for my Sister

if you were a tree, to make my embrace,

i would grow the largest, doing much

as any leaf does, when bathed in the sun

gathering rays for nourishment and love.

none would absorb more warmth than me,

while you withdraw water from the ground,

vitamins and minterals, growing branches

out further and farther to hold us all down.

i’d see more than any, being your biggest leaf.

if you were stargazing, your mind reaching

out to the stars at night, pinpoints of light

seeping down through darkness and piercing

your sight to home visions behind your eyes,

i would be the largest constellation in the sky,

a glimmering armor-clad knight with buckler

swinging out, blocking away shadowy tufts

and a sword striking at the moon, turning

it’s dark side away, so you could see it shine.

or you could gaze at the sky during the day,

and i would be a cumulus and make shapes,

like so many ridiculous balloon animals with

soft fluffy edges, powdery white, waving

across the horizon, like an old snuggly blanket

slowly floating down over you from the sky.

if i were a hamster stuck in a wire cage,

i would share it, if you got stuck too,

my exercise wheel and hamster maze,

all colors and twists, loops and rounds,

running so many circles until we got out.

if i were a bird soaring, saw you in unsteady

flight, i would give you one of my wings,

sing you a song, each beat to the rhythm,

to help you reach the breeze and fly free.

if i were your brother, if you were my sister

i would tell you how very much you meant,

to the world, to your family, to your friends.

i would make you laugh when you were down,

i would hang onto words, and grab onto ideas,

glad that you would share apart of your world,

feeling the crush in my chest from your heartaches,

suffering stabs in my skull from your headaches,

smiling like i found diamonds in glittering eyes,

when happiness escapes from your glowing face.

though we were not born of the same seed or blood,

or place, we have indeed grown of the same mind,

not biologically related, but still in kind: you are my

psychological sister, of the heart, and of the soul,

my golden sister in this life, as our times unfold.

rain boots

it has come to my astute attention over the last couple of years that some members of the chapel hill community have deemed themselves above ridicule of social ineptitude and decided that wearing rain boots is a totally agreeable fashion statement. now, i know you're thinking to yourself, "why does it matter if they wear rain boots? they're just kids. right?" wrong. they are not "just kids." these are fully formed adult human beings who for an inane reason i can't wrap my head around walk around in rain boots, as if that's what's hot these days. let me clear something up. neither is wearing rain boots cute, nor is it socially acceptable among self-respecting adults. in fact, i would go so far as to say that above the age of 8, there is absolutely no reason to wear rain boots. i'm sure you could think of any number of arguments, such as fishermen wearing fishing boots. well they're fishermen. it's part of their fishing wardrobe, just as cops wear starched polyester blue shirts with shiny yellow badges. now it's not that i'm just saying this to be spiteful, but it's objectively infantile when 22 year olds walk around campus, while the sun is shining brightly, with knee high rubber boots and think that they're not committing a social misstep (tangent: some people would have used "faux-pas," the french word for misstep, but i for one am not a fan of inserting random, or not so random, foreign words into an english sentence).

case in point. a couple weeks ago, it rained early in the morning, but the forecast was sunny for the majority of the day. no reason to wear rain boots for an hour or two when the sun's going to be brilliant for the rest of the day. right? wellll, while i'm out and about, on campus of course, what do i see but a socially self-righteous member of the "i'm going to wear rain boots even though i'm a grown woman" club. it was clearly not raining, and the sun was ostensibly shining. so, in order to oblige her need to wear those rain boots, i summarily bumped into her and knocked her into a mud puddle. she had the nerve to give me an indignant look when i was obviously doing her a favor, because hey, she had to use those rubber boots for something.

response to tiffany's "reading in bed"

this is my response to tiffany's "reading in bed". preface: tiffany and i went to undergrad together, and she was (i suppose still is) a cool girl. but anyhows... here's the link http://accordingtojovan.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/sexy-equals-reading-in-bed
truth be told, i think it’s a bit different for guys on the whole physical front. and that’s not to say for all guys, but let’s make a generalization (not an over-generalization). guys have a certain, shall we say, threshold over which a girl has to be attractive, and depending on how much above that threshold she indicates how satisfied he is with her physically. that being said, looks only last so long. the more time you spend with someone you like, the better that person looks. common knowledge. right? anyhows, it’s always the conversation that gets me personally. it’s soooo hard to find someone who can make good conversation. a good conversationalist is not an urbane entity. the good conversationalist, redundancy to emphasize the point, is rare and invaluable. there are dozens of good looking people all around you (well, depending on where you are). that doesn’t mean that they can talk attractively just because they look that way…