Arts
The Arts section of Orient Lodge
Beach Worship
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sun, 08/30/2015 - 08:24My Beloved gently runs His fingers through my hair
in the breeze on the beach
as He calls me
constantly
in the rumble of the waves.
Overhead,
the birds fly
like seraphim
proclaiming His Love.
I look to the sea -
His love is even more vast
than the endless horizon.
Yet there is a pile of bottles and cans
that someone has left in the sand
that need to be cleaned up.
Poem Fragments
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Tue, 08/25/2015 - 16:53The Perseids: A Guided Meditation
I started this back during the Perseids. I had ideas of where I wanted to go with it, but haven't had time to come back to it, So, here it is as is. Maybe I'll work on it more later.
Turn off the 42 inch meditation focal point,
the focal point with talking heads
that distract us from what matter,
the focal point that jerks your emotions
with bright flashes and loud explosions.
Sit on the porch, with your head tilted back
and choose a smaller focal point.
I like Marfak, Theta Cassiopeiae,
Cape Cod Pitch Pines
Likewise, I had originally thought of this as a longer piece. We'll see when I get back to it
The sunlight seeped through the pitch pines
above the warmed berries below
creating a dappled image that would flummox
even the most dedicated jigsaw puzzler.
Isaac Was Here, Too.
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Sat, 08/22/2015 - 09:29The evening’s oppressive heat and humidity
finally broke in the middle of the night
in a fierce storm
leaving the morning
cooler, yet still damp.
On the beach
we wrote
“Isaac was here”
in the sand
as we looked out
over a great sea of grief
to our friends
remembering their son
in London.
In the sand was a leaf of dune grass
looking like a trampled palm leaf
on the streets of Jerusalem
towards the end
of Holy Week.
Near the words
were tiny fish
washed a shore
by the storm
that couldn’t be saved.
The waves will erase our words,
but not the memory
Isaac was here, too.
St. Francis - @marasofar #FringeNYC
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 08/20/2015 - 15:25If you have friends that rescue animals, especially those that work for no-kill shelters, you know that they are some of the best people in the world. They are passionate about what they do. They can also be impractical and more than a little bit crazy. If you don’t know animal rescuers, you owe it to yourself to get to know some.
The play, St. Francis written by and starring Miranda Jonte, captures that passion and madness beautifully. As I watched Tessa, the owner of a threatened no-kill rescue, rant on stage, at times covered with blood from animals she was trying to save, I saw the characteristics of so many great rescuers I have known.
Likewise, Meghan Rose Tonery does a wonderful job of capturing the bubbly energetic volunteer at a rescue in the role of Molly Mattie. Tessa will do anything for Molly. Perhaps it is because she sees in Molly her better self, before she became so jaded and run down by the animal rescue business. Perhaps there is something about Molly that doesn’t get revealed as they talk about selling their eggs.
John Whitney, likewise puts on a solid performance as a returned old flame, another reminder of Tessa’s past before things all got so complicated and John Moss and Frank Mayers round out the cast nicely.
The play captures so much language of rescues from failed fosters to spayed bitches.
Do yourself a favor, go see this play. If you don’t already have a companion animal, visit a shelter and find one. If you’re really inspired, go out and support a shelter or animal sanctuary like Locket’s Meadow
Wilde Tales - A Hidden Gem of #FringeNYC
Submitted by Aldon Hynes on Thu, 08/20/2015 - 09:56The hidden gem of the 2015 New York Fringe Festival just may be the blue sapphire from the Happy Prince that the sparrow gave to the struggling writer in Wilde Tales. Wilde Tales is three fairy tales by Oscar Wilde, carefully crafted together and masterfully executed by six actors. There is great ensemble work and wonderful use of puppets.
These are simple fairy tales, well done. They talk about reluctant sacrificial love, unrequited, scorned love, and forbidden love gone astray. One can easily imagine Oscar Wilde drawing from his own experiences, as well as members of the cast drawing from their own experiences.
A reference early on in the play to the lotus flower made me think this play would pair well with The Broken Record. The angst of The Broken Record seems to go hand in glove with the joy of Wilde Tales.
Do not go to this play expecting intricate plot twists exploring hard to fathom details of the human condition presented through nuanced performances of highly complicated characters. Instead, go expecting simple stories of love tinged with sadness that will uplift your heart.
