Friday, January 26, 2007

Standing by myself in my Abuelitos' house

Aqui yo estoy sonriendome porque pude levantarme yo sola.
Here I am smiling because I am holding myself up.
ho no!!! Tia Nydia me esta tomando fotos otravez.
oh no! my aunt Nydia is taking pictures again.


No se cansan de tomar fotos.
They never get tired of taking pictures.

Poet and Princess

Melissa and Maya are away this week in Miami visiting with the Honduran/American sides of her family: parents, grandparents, family, list of girlfriends, Melissa's parents place in Broward. As I'm working, I was unable to take off but I have been able to catch up on a little night reading. Here's detail of a profile of the young Arthur Rimbaud by Henri Fantin-Latour, "Un Coin de Table", 1872. Rimbaud's got that dreamy look in his eyes - young poet. This painting's kept at the Musee d'Orsay in Paris - I've never been but hope one day I will have the chance to visit - hopefully with Maya.

While Melissa and Maya have been away, I've had a chance to finish a book about Rimbaud, Henry Miller's Time of the Assassins. Essentially, its a tribute. Miller's take on Rimbaud, what happened in Rimbaud's last 19 years after he left poetry at 18(!): gun runner, Abyssinia, mercenary, carrier of a belt of gold coins, dyssentry - man of the world. Its a fascinating take, le monde moderne. It brought up memories when I was living in New York, a more bohemian lifestyle - NYU graduate student - the village. It also got me thinking about my daughter, her bright eyes, smiling face, morning, future possibilities and concerns. If one day Maya finds this entry when she's a little older, she might wonder why her old father read Miller's take on Rimbaud.

Here's a latin verse that's also haunted me this past week. The reference is not the mass but Miami bookstacks, mathematician's musings, themepark engineering, Stanislaus Ulam, his old friend John Von Neumann:

Judex ergo cum sedebit,
quid quid latet apparebit:
nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
cum vix justus sit securus?

Semaphore into the future, Maya.

Monday, January 01, 2007

New Years Day Reading

I like to lie on the persian carpet and read daddy's books.
Hey, who's that spying? Can't you see I'm trying to read!

I should take a break and play with mommy and my fluffy dogs. Hmm, if daddy has more time after work, I'll tell him the interesting things I found if he takes us for a walk in the stroller.