Yellow leaves against red brick.
Green fades to Fall hues.
An all consuming activity that while is not necessary for survival,
represents a reminder that the natural world is still frought with danger.
All other activities must cease,
the pulling of the splinter is the most crucial action of the moment.
Meditative, surgical, satisfying.
Perhaps it reminds us of picking lice,
it is an activity of ultimate self care,
one that has been around as long as human beings
have been walking upright and picking up things made out of wood.
Je ne suis pas étranger à la tragédie.
Au contraire,
elle est restée ma maîtresse la plus fidèle et la plus constante
en dehors de cette vie à laquelle je suis marié,
de ce corps, de ce destin, de cette âme
pour m'accompagner jusqu'à la mort.
C'est vers elle, vers la tragédie que je fuis
quand les exigences de la vie deviennent insupportables,
quand le bonheur lui-même devient une corvée.
English
I am not a stranger to tragedy.
On the contrary,
she has remained my most faithful and constant mistress
outside of this life to which I am married,
of this body, of this destiny, of this soul
to accompany me until death.
It is towards her, towards tragedy that I flee
when the demands of life become unbearable,
when happiness itself becomes a chore.