Being Away

The advantage of being away for March, from Maine to California, is that you get to witness spring twice. Here at the entrance to my tiny cottage, the Japanese maple is leafing out right by the door. Not that I wouldn't like to see the 2 1/2 feet of snow that my granddaughters just got in Vermont, but I'd really rather see the leaves coming out and the orchids blooming - at least for now.

The other advantage is that time slows down. There are fewer things to do out here - no spring cleaning to be done, no snow to shovel, no Boards and committees to attend. I find my own agenda each day, and somehow I get more done. Life is simpler, and for me, that helps sort out what's important versus what is simply time-filling activity.

For instance, I've been reading poetry this week. When I first arrived, I bought Barbara Kingsolver's book, 'Lacuna,' and read it and really enjoyed it. Then I found a first edition of Jack London's 'Valley of the Moon' for $5.00 in a little shop in Bodega Bay, and read that. Sonoma is the Modoc (Native) name for Valley of the Moon, and I am always pleased to know the meaning of the names of places I love. Then I rediscovered Willa Cather's 'Death Comes for the Archbishop.' and read that. Now, I'm reconnoitering a collection of Robinson Jeffers' poetry.

Jeffers' house and tower are about 8 blocks from my cottage. They are right on the edge of Carmel Point and overlook the Bay. He lived and wrote here in the first half of the 20th century, and his works reflect the dark history of that era. I'm finding they resound at the beginning of this century, too. He likens the cities crowding along the coast of California to a purse seine gathering in sardines, flashing in the light as they leap for freedom and are restrained: "...we have built the great cities; now there is no escape."

But rarely is all lost in his work. There are glimmers of how to behave justly, act kindly. I found one line this morning, in a poem called "The Great Sunset." The last line of the poem, in which he turns from the "glowing west" to the "cold twilight," he says, "To be truth-bound, the neutral detested by all the dreaming factions, is my errand here." I can think of no better description of how a life should be lived, than to seek truth, to balance judgement, and act compassionately. A great thing to be reminded of, when we have time to slow down, and read poetry.