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Poem from the Bardo

Or, Not Yet Beginning Again

How to begin—
without holding
without refusing
anything offered
that might be true…

In this age of rejection—
where anyone can cite a border
as proof of vigilance,
as specter of fortification,
the timid integrity of independent states.

How to reconcile two opposing forces—
the past with its gritted, yellow teeth
and the pretty, vacant future,
all doe-eyed and misbegotten,
wishing for better vision, if not transcendence.

The bone chill of early January
stands as referee,
holding the floor with two arms
wide, while the combatants
leer and curse the other.

Yet meanwhile, underfoot—
the frost tempers, congeals
and disperses all earthly energies,
nourishing what needs feeding,
decomposing the detritus
of former seasons’ toil.

And so, again—
how to begin again,
and again and again and again
until the crocuses point toward Spring,
and the mulberries unfasten from their sockets.

Until the mourning’s pictures draw themselves
and the old malingering questions
cease to flatter
or provoke.

Float the Boat!

I produced this video for Clearwater.org’s current initiative. From the fund drive page:

In 1966 Pete Seeger had a seemingly impossible dream – to build a boat to save the Hudson River. Now, 50 years later, we are rebuilding that dream.

Last October, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater began a landmark restoration of the sloop Clearwater’s hull, and today she is just two short months away from splashing into the Hudson River to begin her 47th sailing season.

The restoration project, which is costing Clearwater $850,000 to complete, is our most extensive and costly project to date. Clearwater has managed to raise an incredible $700,000 towards restoring the iconic sloop – that’s 82% of our goal!

Now, with only 10 weeks to go, Clearwater needs your help. We must raise an additional $150,000 to complete the project and ensure that we will be sailing again this June. As Pete Seeger said, “Like the Hudson River itself, the sloop doesn’t belong to a wealthy few, but to all people who care about the river – and our obligation to keep it sailing is for all of them.”
It was the contributions of many people that helped Clearwater become a reality in 1966. Your gift, no matter how large or small, will keep Clearwater sailing for generations to come and continue Pete Seeger’s legacy to protect the Hudson River.

me and Mr. Wiseman

Got to meet one of my filmmaking heroes at HotDocs Film Fest a few weeks ago, documentary legend Frederick Wiseman.

Wiseman

More than a couple times on my own films I’ve started out trying to do something in a Wiseman mode but then quickly changed courses when I realized how difficult it is to simply observe. When future historians or aliens or androids or whoever comes along next wants to see what American (and sometimes French) life was like during the last bunch of decades, they could do no better than cooking up some space corn, settling into their retractable hover-boy, and tuning into any one of  Wiseman’s treasures.

He’s currently in post-production on a new film set in Jackson Heights, Queens—widely considered to be one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the world.