Take Photos of 43 Different People in Bakersfield Reading Rumi

When I get back from Flagstaff and the kids go back to school, I will have more time (and energy) to dedicate to this goal.

It was difficult because I had given away all my Rumi books in a passionate generous mood… gotta share him, you know?

Anyway – onwards and upwards!

This was the first time I met Kaitlyn, but since she so enjoyed my poem “Moist Dirt” I knew she was cool.

She said, “You sure packed a lot of great stuff into a poem about dirt.”

LOL

I took this one after poetry group at Russo’s. YAY! I am on track with this goal again!

Gives me a new aim – to accomplish this goal by then…

A poem, “Close the Language Door” translated by Coleman Barks.

There is some kiss we want
with our whole lives,
the touch of Spirit on the body.

Seawater begs the pearl
to break its shell.

And the lily, how passionately
it needs some wild Darling!

At night, I open the window
and ask the moon to come
and press its face against mine.
Breathe into me.

Close the language-door,
and open the love-window

The moon won’t use the door,
only the window.

Sam didn’t quite get it…

This was a really quick shoot and I am really happy with the outcome. So much so, I am not sure what photo to choose. Eenie Meenie, Miney, Mo…

This was such a fun time tonight. I was supposed to take photos of my friend, Kaitlin, but she never showed up. Instead, it was my two youngest children and myself, cavorting together.

And reading some Rumi. And taking photos. And laughing.

I adore this shot.

I had never met Julian before… Joe and I were hanging out at this sort of odd yet completely regular part of the landscape neighborhood bar called “The Esquire” which is a hop-skip-and-a-jump from Bakersfield Community Theatre.

I mentioned it seemed like the perfect Bakersfield place to take a Rumi Photo. We had just finished with karaoke there (the KJ company was called something like “Pure American Karaoke” which I found offensive but somehow in this setting, not surprising.)

Anyway – Julian read some Rumi and Joe read some Rumi aloud and he was entranced by it, which is what usually happens when folks are exposed to his work.

She is a “Song for Vanya” cast mate and is exactly the same age as my daughter, Marlena would be. She was born only a few days later. Kinda weird, kinda great.

He was funny. He shocked himself by “getting really into it!”