: X Days :

CANTO [ i ] [ i ]

red is rushing
from you lips
and I cannot put out this lamp light
thats burning down the corridor
and betraying my every step
to your honey glowing skin
that holds deep set eyes against you

© Bryan McLean, excerpt lines from
X Days : Cantos in Hours : Fiction :

Saturday, June 24, 2006
CANCER (June 22-July 22).

This Gemini moon is the eve of the new moon in Cancer. If your entire day is spent preparing for the near future, it will be well-spent, indeed. Tomorrow is a perfect start date for home projects. The best plans involve talking -- lots and lots of talking. A few words with someone in the know could save days, if not weeks, of needless effort.

 Doing your best has everything to do with the details now. When you think to do something, do it right away. You won't be sorry for immediate and thorough action.

CANCER (June 21–July 22): It is an auspicious time to use the goodwill you have accumulated through your generous deeds. You should ask for favors from people who have enjoyed your favors, and coast along on the currents of the good karma you have set in motion. Luck will be on your side if you permit yourself an excursion into the naughty mysteries of enlightened narcissism. You will be given more slack than usual, especially if you have the nerve to demand it.

[ .the.living.night.III. ]

just rest now
cupping small frames
out against
exhausted styles
laid out in livid angles
knuckles fallen back
over chests crested
with heavy sighs
and enigmatic grins
all hidden underneath
the knowing shadows
of the room we're in

© Bryan McLean June 19 2006,
the alchemal quandary

June 21 2006 The Summer Solstice is also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist (nb: June 24 is St Jean the Baptist Day), Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, etc.

People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the summer solstice. On this day, typically JUN-21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer. It is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe.

"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."

The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. It typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, JUN-21 -- the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice -- the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum.

[ .the.living.night.II. ]

every minute counting down
counting out against us now
watchworks know
our every meaningless second
hands all spread out
across smalls of backs
and hips that press back down
gasping scratching at the eardrum
fighting to keep breath
to stay above the undertow
soakingly sucking down
into the nighttime surfaces

© Bryan McLean June 11 2006,
the alchemal quandary,
book II of the syndrome papers

Statement of Feelings in a Shaby Residence on an Autumn Evening

Sleeping in a cold bed, dreams doin't go far.
As I listen to autumn, our separation feels sour.
Wind through high and low branches,
thousands and thousands of leaves whisper.
A shallow well won't give enough drink.
Fields of thin soil are unplowed and abandoned.
People don't deal with each other as in ancient times:
no one listens to a poor man's words.

Complaints

Let's compete with our tears,
let them pour into a lotus pond;
then we'll wait this year and see
whose flowers drown in salt water.

Meng Jiao
(751-814)

Meng Jiao (我焦) came from Huzhou-Wukang and eventually settled in Luoyang. He wrote during the Tang Dynasty, which is considered the highest period in Chinese literature, producing Wang Wei, Du Fu, Bai Juyi, and many other masters. Almost five hundred of his poems surrvive, most written in gu shi (old style). Although Meng Jiao was popular in his own time, he later was displaced by critics, slandering his reputation, many times inferring that his style 'lacked grace'.

.day.twenty-seven.

well atm I'm not sure how this is going.. not drinking seems to be a social interaction thing I'm having troubles getting over.. mind you a good glass of icedtea does in fact look like a pint.. so I'm getting by.. don't mind the not-drinking, but occassionally mind hanging out with drunk ppl *shrug*

 moods... down here or there, I'm doing alright today though.

been super busy... was C's bday out last friday.. mmmm fondue.. hope she's good...

Then our KitchenNinja flew in last week for a goodtimes visit from old LondonTown Ont.... been to the Canadian Ballet*snicker*, Banff, Lakes&Mountains, running around the city for some eats&meets.. excellent fun....

He hit the plane yesterday and then my other buddy from my home town calls me up and says "I'm out side of moosejaw, should be there in six hours.." .... fucking crazy.. so hench my not being online nor having time to update my madness here...

regardless, my bday is coming up fast.. got stuff and posters to finish up..

ttyl

+laine+