Posted 8:26 PM by Blah blah

Happy New Year!

I wanted to wish everyone, both our cowriters and our readers, a delightful New Year and fresh hope and joy for next year! A man is enriched mostly by his friends and relationships, so I have been both surprised and very lucky to have met so many of you this year, either online or in person. Who would have thought a little blog would help bring people together from several parts of the world?

I got some very nice cards in the post from Key in New York, Rasee in Bangkok, and Christina in Nanjing. Thank you thank you thank you!! Key will be moving blogs soon. Christina, ever the romantic, has been posting many cute dog pix recently. But it's not her dog, Xiao Xiao. I wonder whose it is?

Some new people have linked to Tiger Cafe recently. They are very cool and interesting women. Thank you and a big HI to Valerie in Manila, Ida in the San Francisco area, and some blog in SPANISH which I forget.

Valerie posted this sweet poem:

Variation on the Word Sleep
by Margaret Atwood

I would like to watch you sleeping,
which may not happen.
I would like to watch you,
sleeping. I would like to sleep
with you, to enter
your sleep as its smooth dark wave
slides over my head

and walk with you through that lucent
wavering forest of bluegreen leaves
with its watery sun and three moons
towards the cave where you must descend,
towards your worst fear

I would like to give you the silver
branch, the small white flower, the one
word that will protect you
from the grief at the center
of your dream, from the grief
at the center. I would like to follow
you up the long stairway
again and become
the boat that would row you back
carefully, a flame
in two cupped hands
to where your body lies
beside me, and you enter
it as easily as breathing in

I would like to be the air
that inhabits you for a moment
only. I would like to be that unnoticed
and that necessary.

Will say more later, about my move and the rest. In the meantime, have hope and joy for the fresh blank page of tomorrow.

See ya!