Achiever's Motto

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. 

Hunter S. Thompson 

Winter Solstice and the Longest Night

December 21, the shortest day of the year, the longest night, the beginning of Winter... This is the time for comfort and introspection.

"The Winter Solstice is the time of ending and beginning, a powerful time - a time to contemplate your immortality. A time to forgive, to be forgiven, and to make a fresh start. A time to awaken." - Frederick Lenz (1950-1998)

Image: Candles by Dominique Teng©2022

Persimmons in Season

In sixth grade Mrs. Walker
slapped the back of my head
and made me stand in the corner
for not knowing the difference
between persimmon and precision.
How to choose persimmons. This is precision.
Ripe ones are soft and brown-spotted.
Sniff the bottoms. The sweet one
will be fragrant. How to eat:
put the knife away, lay down newspaper.
Peel the skin tenderly, not to tear the meat.
Chew the skin, suck it,
and swallow. Now, eat
the meat of the fruit,
so sweet,
all of it, to the heart.

Fragment of the poem "Persimmons" by Li-Young Lee, 1986

 

Image: Persimmons by Dominique Allmon©2022