Nelson Mandela

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.

For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.

Do not judge me by my successes, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again.
~ Nelson Mandela

Today, a brave, important man died, and the world is a bit darker for his departure. But oh, how much brighter the world from his living. The man who fought apartheid, racism, and hate, persevering through anger, slavery, hate, and disregard into a triumphant model of love, redemption and forgiveness. He moved an entire country towards forgiveness and acceptance, a united people.
I read a story once called The City and the City. I've never recommended Mieville much to my friends, simply because his style is convoluted and confusing at times, though his writing can be a marvel. In the same geographical space lived two different countries, and they were forbidden any semblance of interaction. Even seeing the other country, its citizens, buildings, or possessions, was against the law. They were required to "unsee" anything from the other country, and recognized certain patterns and colors from the other country that they would subsequently erase from their conscious. Sometimes, you might be sharing the road with someone from the other city, or a sidewalk, or even a building - still you fastidiously forgot their presence, as soon as you could. Perhaps the worst crime in the city was 'breaching' or crossing over into the other city by means of seeing what you should not, or physically entering into zones restricted for the other city.
I'm reminded of this as I read through documents about apartheid and Nelson Mandela's life and South African history.
In the first quote above by Mandela, I'm also reminded of Dune (the book-nerd in me): 
I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain
~Frank Herbert - Dune

Just some thoughts, really. I read some Carl Sandburg today, marveling at the changes in his writing over fifty years. I have a book that contains all of his publicized poetry, essays, and stories, and it has everything in chronological order, so I can flip through the fifty years of writing in a breath, from his very first pieces to the things he wrote as he neared death. It is a strange thing, seeing how drastically my own writing changes year-to-year, being in a very infantile state, and then looking at a famous writer and seeing the improvements and changes he or she saw fit to make over the course of a writing career.


Cleft, together and apart into a knife
thin line separating us like sea and sky
forever apart, forever nigh
and what is the difference between death and life
the chasm crossing from black to white
and how far, really, are any two hearts
when the stars much farther apart still shine
bright and lovely
we, as the dark and light sides of the moon
~~~
each a season in its time
you,
summer eyes, spring smile,
winter hands and autumn tresses
and I
janus eyes, september smile,
vernal hair, and harvest hands
maybe meant to pass
like ships on different paths