Will I Ever Shut Up?

*

One of my favorite past times is doing Calligraphy. Beautiful words deserve to be written beautifully, I feel. I am just a beginner, learning out of how to books for now, but I am thinking of taking some classes if I can find any.

I am still working on this page. Hopefully I will get some more of my favorite poems, and other words of wisdom on here. As well, if I ever find the time, I hope to get some of the pieces I do in calligraphy scanned to show you. Then again, I don't have many - I tend to give them away to friends and family.

Until then, I hope these pages give you more information and more appreciation for the wonderful art of words.

*Niel Kandalgaonkar's Typeface Designs - A friend of mine who is something of a graphical wizzard created these typefaces. Check them out, and his other pages.
**Ward Dunham's Gallery - This is the gentleman who created the lovely circle at the top of this page.
*Country Calligraphy
*Calligraphy - T.J. Allen
*Calligraphy by KMH - Extremely Limited Editions
*Hawaiian Letter Art - this is something a little different
*Social Software Homepage - electronically do what people do by hand... cool
*Matty's Calligraphy
*Angelos Calligraphy Page
* Belle Lettere Calligraphy
* Chicago Calligraphy Collective
* Art of Chinese Calligraphy
* Islamic Arts and Architecture
* Vellum Gallery of Calligraphy, Illumination, and Letter Arts
* World Wide Scribe

Some Poetry:

Married Love

You and I
Have so much love,
That it
Burns like a fire,
In which we bake a lump of clay
Molded into a figure of you
And a figure of me.
Then we take both of them
And break them into pieces,
And mix the pieces with water,
And mold again a figure of you,
And a figure of me.
In life we share a single quilt.
In death we will share one coffin.
-- Kuan Tao-Shing (1282-1319).

Remember?

My insides are bloated
With infection and rot
That churn and constrict
With my thoughts.
A single word chokes me
THE TRUTH IS MY ENEMY
I feel it press up
Fill my chest
Catch my breath
I surpress
Can't express
...
It passes
...
Relaxes
-- Andrea Salmond, 1995.

Dance with me 'till rhythms die,
Sing to me 'till lyrics lie.
Laugh out loud 'till jokes aren't funny,
Do special things worth more than money.
Hold me tight 'till grip is weakened,
Remember me all through the weekend.
Kiss me 'till the feeling's gone,
Talk with me the whole night long.
Hoping that it will last forever,
Love me now and never say never.
The Bridge to Nowhere

I came across a bridge one day,
It crossed a great ravine,
Where the water crashed against the rocks below.

The noise was deafening.

The bridge didn't seem to lead anywhere.

Except across.

I thought,
"Someone wanted to get across.
There must be something on the other side.

Unless...

Maybe someone wanted to come from there to here.
Maybe there was nothing here,
So they went back.

Or vice versa."

I stood and thought and looked across to the very end,
And there was someone there.
Maybe thinking what I was.

Maybe not.

We both stood and looked,
But neither ventured closer.
We both turned away.

The unknown is frightening.

I thought of the bridge,
And the other side,
And the unknown.

And the noise was deafening.

Words of Wisdom

"You've got to dance like nobody's watching, and love like it's never going to hurt."
-- Unknown

"Sometimes it's easier to believe that you're in love than to admit that you're alone."
-- Benton Fraser, "An Invitation to Romance", Due South
I object to intellect without discipline; I object to power without constructive purpose.
-- Spock, "The Squire of Gothos", stardate 2124.5
Lord, make me an instument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me show love, where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light, and where there is sadness, joy.
--St. Francis de Assisi
The full quote in its original German, in wonderful calligraphy can be found here.
Children play in order to approach reality, while adults play in order to escape reality.
'Till now man has been up against Nature;
From now on he will be up against his own Nature.
Friendship is the comfort, the inexpressible comfort, of feeling safe with a person, having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring all right out just as they are, chaff and grain together, certain that a faithful friendly hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and with a breath of comfort blow the rest away.
Happiness is a butterfly which when pursued is always just beyond your grasp, but which if you just sit down quietly may alight upon you.
Don't mind criticism. If it is untrue, disregard it; if it is unfair, don't let it irritate you; if it is ignorant, smile; if it is justified, learn from it.
Oh, great spirit, whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to the world, hear me. I come to you as one of your many children. I am small and weak. I need your strength and your wisdom. May I walk in beauty. Make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset. Make my hands respect the things that you have made and my ears sharp to hear your voice. Make me wise so that I may know the things you have taught your children, the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock. Make me strong, not to be superior to my brothers, but able to fight my greatest enemy, myself. Make me ever ready to come to you with straight eyes, so that when life fades as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to you without shame.
--Chief Dan George