Masks In Love....

"Love takes off masks that we fear we cannot live without and know we cannot live within."

James Arthur Baldwin

Egomet

Self Interrogation.....

Self-Interrogation

"The evening passes fast away,

'Tis almost time to rest;

What thoughts has left the vanished day,

What feelings, in thy breast?

"The vanished day?

It leaves a sense

Of labour hardly done;

Of little, gained with vast expense, - A sense of grief alone!

"Time stands before the door of Death,

Upbraiding bitterly;

And Conscience, with exhaustless breath,

Pours black reproach on me:

"And though I've said that Conscience lies,

And Time should Fate condemn;

Still, sad Repentance clouds my eyes,

And makes me yield to them!

"Then art thou glad to seek repose?

Art glad to leave the sea,

And anchor all thy weary woes

In calm Eternity?

"Nothing regrets to see thee go -

Not one voice sobs "farewell,"

And where thy heart has suffered so,

Canst thou desire to dwell?"

"Alas! The countless links are strong

That bind us to our clay;

The loving spirit lingers long,

And would not pass away!

"And rest is sweet, when laurelled fame

Will crown the soldier's crest;

But, a brave heart, with a tarnished name,

Would rather fight than rest."

"Well, thou hast fought for many a year,

Hast fought thy whole life through,

Hast humbled Falsehood, trampled Fear;

What is there left to do?"

"'Tis true, this arm has hotly striven,

Has dared what few would dare;

Much have I done, and freely given,

But little learnt to bear!"

"Look on the grave, where thou must sleep,

Thy last, and strongest foe;

It is endurance not to weep,

If that repose seem woe.

"The long war closing in defeat,

Defeat serenely borne,

Thy midnight rest may still be sweet,

And break in glorious morn!"

Emily Jane Brontë

Egomet

At a Lunar Eclipse.....

AT A LUNAR ECLIPSE

"Thy shadow, Earth, from Pole to Central Sea,

Now steals along upon the Moon's meek shine

In even monochrome and curving line

Of imperturbable serenity.

How shall I link such sun-cast symmetry

With the torn troubled form I know as thine,

That profile, placid as a brow divine,

With continents of moil and misery?

And can immense Mortality but throw

So small a shade, and Heaven's high human scheme

Be hemmed within the coasts yon arc implies?

Is such the stellar gauge of earthly show,

Nation at war with nation, brains that teem,

Heroes, and women fairer than the skies?"

By Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

Egomet

Forever Friends....

This is especifically for you (3 friends with who I shared saturday night). Friendship teaches us so much that sometimes it changes us (not always in the same direction, but it changes)....

And time is, undoubtedly, a valuable thing (you understand what I mean...).

Thanks for those moments...and thanks for being who you are and for accepting me the way I am.

Kisses

Egomet

Direitos....

“ (…) O mundo tornou-se um direito do homem e tudo se transformou em direito: o desejo de amor em direito ao amor, o desejo de repouso em direito ao repouso, o desejo de amizade em direito à amizade, o desejo de guiar depressa de mais em direito de guiar depressa de mais, o desejo de felicidade em direito à felicidade, o desejo de publicar um livro em direito de publicar um livro, o desejo de se gritar à noite nas ruas em direito de gritar à noite nas ruas. (…)”

Kundera, M. (2001). A Imortalidade. pág. 135. 5ª edição.


Um dos aspectos mais característicos da filosofia de Sócrates é a introspecção, expressa no lema “conhece-te ti mesmo”. Equivocamo-nos, repetidamente, cogitando que é fácil cumprir este lema. A introspecção parece ser mais facilmente atingida quando nos tornamos conscientes da nossa ignorância, porque é isso que nos conduz à sabedoria. Sabermos que somos, de alguma forma, ignorantes torna-nos virtuosos seres em busca do conhecimento, ouvindo a voz interior do génio e a do demónio (todos as transportamos, sendo fundamental saber ouvi-las).

Por vezes, a liberdade destas vozes é peculiarmente austera, crítica e irónica. Estas características são projectadas para o ser, sendo a consequência mais nítida a de descontentamento geral, concretização, racionalização, um estado de ânimo hostil, ou não. Será um estado de ânimo hostil desejável, ou nem por isso? Por vezes as evidências a favor deste estado de ânimo esbatem-se contra nós, sem que nos apercebamos. É ele que nos permite corromper o que é concebido como dado adquirido, e esbatemo-nos muitas vezes contra a parede pessoal que foi construída quase imperceptivelmente. Concebo este estado de ânimo como um juíz intrinsecamente relacionado com a justiça humana. Este juíz ilumina-nos os olhos da alma, permitindo-nos ver não uma solução empírica para a vida terrena, mas sim o juízo eterno da razão. Assim se caminha em direcção à imortalidade.

Egomet

This night in this city…

Shamefully I do not remember where this photo was taken from, neither its author, but I like it.

Staring at the window smoking the last cigarette of the night, and simultaneously the first cigarette of the day…The only sounds I hear are those of cars passing in the street. No signs of wind, the trees’ leaves stand still, as if they were dead, as if the city was alive, but simultaneously dead. The essence my olfactory system perceives is simply my own essence, my own perfume.

The only place where there is some movement is inside my mind, my thoughts are running a marathon, they do not rest, and they are constantly moving, making a party by their own. And I, I decide to join their party while smoking this cigarette. Incredibly, I want to stand still while having fun with my thoughts, because they make me realize the way I already am nostalgic even simply thinking about the last few months spent in this city. Most of all, they make me realize the way this nostalgia is affecting me. I love this city, I love all the moments spent here, all those moments I did not spend, all the perceived sensations, all the unperceived sensations. I feel happy for being here, but unhappy because these are the last nights I am spending here. I will obviously come back, for several reasons I know I will have to, but it will be different, because it will not be so often. I learnt a lot during the last eight/nine months, but I wouldn’t mind if it took longer, if I could stay here a bit longer, because I am finding myself, I am starting to feel free, and most of all I want to scream I feel free.

I know you will say I am being ridiculous because I knew, since the beginning, things would be this way and I would never stay here more than these few months (even it was only during a few days per week). But, what can I do if I love this city, if I love the way it makes me feel me.

Egomet

P.S. I know perfectly well this is a nonsense post, but since most things I write are nonsense ones, I decided to leave this one here as well.

Untitled…

Through the fountains of my inner life, I see and I feel years passing through. I see nights, I feel nights, I see days and I feel them, ones more than others. Some days I feel things with an open heart, other days my heart is locked in such a way that it seems I will need a key to open it, mainly because I used a padlock to lock it. Some days I want to open it, but others I want to keep it locked. Some days I feel desolated, like an old grey stone, but other days I feel bright and red, with a clear looking; without torrents, only fountains remain. These are those good days, when I fight for my thoughts, my passions, and my delights, when I have glittering eyes…when I feel like a simple and glorious child. The bad days are those when my eyes become wild, blind, without smell, without sensation, without audition, like misshapen stones. It seems that my life and my soul change according the way I want to perceive and to feel everything, like a life and a soul for every mode of being. But, even so, they cannot be disconnected, they must be linked: like a child and his mother, like a bird and his nest, like a body and its soul, like a play and its characters and author. My life and my soul cannot be solitary beings, and I believe together they will feed my sunshine, my prosperous and unthinking desires, all my blessings, all my scraps and fragments.

Egomet

Live 8....

That's not a matter of charity, but a matter of justice.

The only thing you have to do is to sign your name...mine is already there.

http://www.live8live.com

Is a difficult task, but at least is possible to try to change the world (I am not saying we will change it, but we must believe our chances are bigger than they were a few years ago).

Egomet