Read!

Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master. Read! You’ll absorb it. Then write. If it’s good, you’ll find out. If it’s not, throw it out of the window.

- William Faulkner

My all time favorite writer. 

Well I’ve Got a Lot of Gall

My friends, I’m having a health event and I could use your prayers and good thoughts this week. All signs point to my gallbladder being the culprit, but I’m waiting for my doctor to call about lab results.

I’ve had several attacks of significant upper abdominal pain over the past several years. Recently, the pains became frequent, so I saw my doc. He said it was suspicious for gallbladder, but prescribed a powerful antacid in case it was gastritis. A few days later, I started getting jaundice (my eyes and skin are yellowish), which generally means that the gallbladder is blocked.

Yesterday I had an ultrasound, which confirmed the presence of stones in my gallbladder. But to rule out other causes, the doctor also sent me to the lab for blood work. That’s what I’m waiting for now.

The good news is that I’ve had no pain in several days, because I’ve stopped eating fat, gone pretty much Vegan. But I’ve never had a health problem that wasn’t solved with medicine and rest. I’ve never been in a hospital as a patient.

It looks like I’ll need surgery for this. If so, hopefully, I’ll have the laproscopic option. I’ve heard that’s much less of a trial. And I understand that gallbladder surgery is very common and safe. But I’m still anxious — understandably, I think.

At the moment I feel OK. I’m just waiting for more to be revealed. In the meantime, I can use all the prayer and good energy from you that I can get … thanks!

Many Years

In this good place I have paper
and ink but not the sound
of your breathing. I have
the sound of trucks passing
and the birds that sing at dawn.

The sun shines all day
but the owls called from a tree
that I cut down out of spite.
I have mulberry trees
and deep shade in memory
but I have forgotten the little
lines around your eyes.

I see that I should stay
for many years, until death
quickens me to energy
and gives me particles
of laughter to remember you
in the next good place.

J. Kyle Kimberlin
4.28.2013

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Many Years by J. Kyle Kimberlin is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution-
NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License
.

We Are Dissolved

This is one of my favorite poems by me. The emotions are close to the surface, but still flitting about in obscurity.

I’ve posted it before, but just gave it a polish. And as far as I’m concerned, if I change a word or a punctuation mark, it’s fair game to post it again if I want to. Don’t you agree?

I can’t do an audio right now, because the PC I use to do that is in the shop for a new motherboard.

Water Melts Sugar

Water melts sugar. Sunlight
in February melts the dull fog
on the bald canal. We are
dissolved, standing on the bank
searching the dark water for gar.
They drift away.

Fog dulls the hearing. There –
is that dog barking ahead of us
or behind? No matter, we have
no need of dogs now, or fish.
We have everything.

You know, sugar is good in our coffee
and on berries when the summer comes.
But look – I think I see one
swimming in the swift, cold deep.

Creative Commons License
Water Melts Sugar by J. Kyle Kimberlin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Right Behind You

I mean I’m following you too, as far as you know. 

A lot of bloggers have been following Metaphor lately, and I appreciate it very much. But you might be wondering why I haven’t followed back. It’s because I usually don’t sub by email. I use Feedly to sub to feeds; until recently, Google Reader. I have a lot of WordPress blogs set up there. So that’s what’s going on. 

Apropos of nothing, I really wish the owner of this coffeehouse would throw down a few bucks to pump in some heat. It’s a beautiful spring day, but it’s like a refrigerator in here. Still, thanks for the free wi-fi. 

Link

Is the news bad for our heath and well-being? And should we – can we – give it up? 

I’ve been consuming the news on a daily basis since the days of Watergate, but it has never made me feel wiser or more confident of my place in the world. The news of today’s bombing at the Boston Marathon made me feel physically anxious. Still, I feel a duty to my fellow humans on some tribal level to stay connected consciously with the bad stuff that’s happening. Is it possible to sever that connection without feeling stupid or guilty?

The Guardian says: “News is bad for your health. It leads to fear and aggression, and hinders your creativity and ability to think deeply. The solution? Stop consuming it altogether.”

News is bad for you – and giving up reading it will make you happier »

If you are not a news consumer – or you are an avid one – what are your thoughts?