"CLARITY II'
The French say:
beau temps,
not a beautiful day
but a beautiful time.
The day can't be beautiful
but the time can be.
(Larry Morris, On this Sweet Earth)
After a smoky-sky beginning, this morning has given way to beau temps! I remember discovering the morning salutation "Quel beau temps!" many years ago, while staying at a quaint guest house on the French island Noirmoutier in the North Atlantic. The early morning had been misty, cold and gray, but by mid-morning, the clouds gave way to glorious sunshine, blue sky, and clean ocean air--beau tempe. The French hotel host that morning enthusiastically greeted me, with "Quel beau temps, and happily began to educate me (in English!) on the layers of its meaning. My meager French was self-taught, so I was open to his lesson. When I latter told the story to Larry Morris (who had actually taken French courses at UNM), it inspired the poem, Clarity II.
I knew 'quel' translated to the exclamative 'what!' and 'beau' meant beautiful, but I learned that 'temps' has two meanings: it can mean 'time', in a general sense, (like "take all the time you need") but it also has evolved to mean weather. There is some speculation that the words 'time' and 'weather' were originally associated through ancient systems of measuring time, like the sundial. Predictable, periodic times of changing weather developed the concept of seasons, with distinct challenges and delights. "Time" extended to include fluctuating social conditions as well, giving us such ideas as "hard times"/"temps difficile"and "better times"/"meilleurs temps". Today, I encourage you to consider how you habitually greet the day and label "the time(s)" we live in.
The California Covid surge this summer, the horrendous heat waves of September, the current fires here in L.A. County and across the country, and all the added conflicts and challenges around the globe do not easily meld into a time of beauty. This, I think, is what Larry meant when he wrote "the day cannot beautiful". We humans carry the weight of social issues and the consequences of conflict with nature and each other. Yet, there are always alternative ways to view life. We have the capacity to re-name our reality. Because Life is immeasurable, there is life hiding within life: birth hiding within death, peace hiding within conflict, love hiding within fear, resilience hiding within failure, and beauty--depending on how you define and experience it--everywhere. If only for today, greet the beauty inherent in time and in timelessness. My favorite way to greet the day is the adage: "As the sun makes it new, day by day, make it new, yet again, make it new." Find or refine your own morning greeting. Why not Walk in Beauty and Newness of Life? Quel beau temps! (Susan Nettleton)
For poetry: https://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/.../WhenWorld/index.html