Donald Traxler's Poetry

Wednesday, December 9, 2020

100,000 Visits, and Yakov

We are on the threshold of 100,000 visits to this blog. As those who know me would expect, I am celebrating with a nude selfie. As I've said many times, "there is nothing to say about a naked man (or woman)." It is, after all, our natural state and birthright. But there may be something to say about a photograph of such a person. The photo below was taken on December 8 2020, coincidentally our forty-first wedding anniversary. If I look relatively healthy and youthful in the picture, at the age of 78, Sandy deserves much of the credit. I think I would probably be dead, at least physically, if not for her.

On September 26 2020, three days after my birthday, I published this poem:

Visions I - The Old Man

An old man,

with gray hair and beard,

is giving me nourishment,

sustenance,

and keys,

from the other side.

He hands these things to me

through the veil,

with his right hand.

In his left hand he holds a staff.

I do not know his name,

but he knows me.

This "vision" was actually an appearance on the Astral plane, the level that is called "sukshma" (subtle) in Sanskrit. It is not uncommon for me to receive communications on the Astral from friends who have passed, but I didn't know who this one was, Or maybe I didn't want to know. It was cleared up for me at 3:55 a.m. this morning. It was Yakov.

My friend Yakov Leib HaKohain, known to the poetry community as Larry G. Corey, passed on October 16 2017 (26 Tishrei 5778). On my birthday, three days before the "vision," I had written a poem, "Upanishadic Postlude," which I dedicated to him. Clearly, he was on my mind. In the poem I mentioned that on his yahrzeit, which this year fell on October 14, I would light a candle for him. And so I did.

Yakov did not appear to me in his physical form from this life, the old man who lived on the mountain with his beloved dogs. Instead he presented as a kind of Gandalf character, leaving me to wonder whether it was an agèd Rabbi, Sri Aurobindo, Walt Whitman, or someone else. I should have known. It was just the kind of trick Yakov would play, and no one else would even think of it.

As I said, it's not uncommon for friends who have passed on to communicate with me from the Astral. But they don't give me nourishment, sustenance, and keys.

I am accepting Yakov as my guide and teacher from the "other side," and taking him up on his promise. I do not do it lightly. It requires commitment, and comes with a responsibility. It also shows that I cannot escape from the old fart, even three years after his reputed "death."

Tuesday, December 8, 2020

Blue Skies - The Naked Poet in Uruguay

My wife, Sandy, and I moved to Uruguay in January, 2013. We had already bought a house in Atlántida, Department of Canelones. Later on, we also bought a beach house in Aguas Dulces, Department of Rocha.

In mid-2013 we acquired a rescue dog, whom we named "Betty." She is still with us, and is now 7-1/2 years old. Getting her to the US when we returned was difficult and expensive, but was well worth it.

As you can see from the photograph below, our house had a swimming pool. We knew pretty much everyone in Atlántida's small expat community, and we gave frequent pool parties and dinner parties, especially in the earlier years.

Cleaning the pool was a chore that allowed me to have a year-round, allover tan. That was the good part. It was also a lot of work, and got to be harder as the years went by. It got to be too much, and I'm glad that we don't have a pool now.

Uruguay is a wonderful little country (population a little more than three million, of whom half live in the capital, Montevideo). As we got older, though, it became less practical for us to live there. We both look back fondly on the years we spent there. We returned to the US in April, 2019. Florida has many advantages for us, and we're happy to be here.

We have lived in several countries, and have visited many more. We wouldn't give up any of those experiences.

Monday, December 7, 2020

This Body Has Survived

This body has survived for

three-quarters of a century,

twenty-five or thirty thousand

risings of the sun.

This body has carried me

to school, to work,

to love, to being free

from daily labor,

and yet--

it is not me.

More naked I cannot be

until this body

sets me free.

99,000 Visits and Some Big-time Pirates

While I was looking the other way, we went from 98,000 visits to 99,000, and a day later we're at 99,309. This is largely due to concerted pirate activity from the United States and Japan. Should I take this (as well as other piracy from Russia, Germany, and other countries) as a compliment? My sister, who is a well established, prizewinning poet, has congratulated me. They will, after all, bear the costs of publication and distribution. But I still believe in authors' rights and intellectual-property laws, and will act accordingly.

My writing and photography continue apace, driven by a muse with a mind of her own. My "Upanishad" series is now up to eighty-six parts, with more definitely coming. I am hoping the series will eventually reach the sacred number of 108. I am also currently working on a short prose article that will explain how telepathy works, at least in my view.

Florida's short and mild winter is here. We have had low temperatures as low as 33° F, highs in the fifties and sixties. We are able to keep our well-insulated house at a comfortable 77°, so I still don't need to wear clothes at home. I guess I shouldn't complain about having to be at home almost all the time, due to the pandemic. I am not, though, getting the amount of sun that I would like. Fortunately, sun and moderate outdoor warmth will be back in February, if not sooner.

As usual, I would like to thank you all (even the pirates, I guess) for your continued interest and enthusiasm.