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| On
Turning Ten |
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The whole idea of it makes me feel
like I’m coming down with something,
something worse than any stomach ache
or the headaches I get from reading in bad light-
a kind of measles of the spirit,
a mumps of the psyche,
a disfiguring chicken pox of the soul.
You tell me it is too early to be looking back,
but that is because you have forgotten
the perfect simplicity of being one
and the beautiful complexity introduced by two.
But I can lie on my bed and remember every digit.
At four I was an Arabian wizard.
I could make myself invisible
by drinking a glass of milk a certain way.
At seven I was a soldier, at nine a prince.
But now I am mostly at the window
watching the late afternoon light.
Back then it never fell so solemnly
against the side of my tree house,
and my bicycle never leaned against the garage
as it does today,
all the dark blue speed drained out of it.
This is the beginning of sadness, I say to myself,
as I walk through the universe in my sneakers.
It is time to say good-bye to my imaginary friends,
time to turn the first big number.
It seems only yesterday I used to believe
there was nothing under my skin but light.
If you cut me I would shine.
But now when I fall upon the sidewalks of life,
I skin my knees. I bleed. |
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Billy Collins
The Art of Drowning (1995)
p. 48-49 |
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Miguel de Clerck |
Professionally, my work at Medecins sans Frontiers
(Doctors Without Borders) has always included the
imperative to evaluate my jobs through the criteria of
the mobilized, or the served population; the
omnipresence of ethical dilemmas; and the often
completely unfamiliar environment in which I work. It
has opened my eyes to the mechanisms that lead to
either major societal changes, or the absence of
change.
Meet
Miguel...
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| Executive Director |
PBHA is
looking for a motivated and enthusiastic individual
with a strong
commitment to social justice and progressive
education to serve as their new Executive Director.
Read more...
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| Community
Profile |
Do you know how
many people are part of this organizing community? Do
you know how we break down by gender, location, and
work sector? Check out we are and where we are in the
"Our Community" section of this website.
Go
there |
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