mardi gras farewell

this will be my final post
for the time being lent
i am deciding to forgo my
attachment to the blogosphere
undergoing a little selfdenial
as it were

yet i want to say that i read two
things this morning
in COMMONWEAL magazine
a catholic rag

the first was concerning the life and times of Max Jacob
a painter in Paris during the 1st and 2nd world wars
one of those animated artistic goofballs who
haunted cafes and galleries and bookstores
in the headiest time of Paris' life as a city
the 20th century
while there cavorting with the likes of
picasso gertrude stein and diaghelev
he took to drink and drugs and sex
sex it seems of any variety that would come along
but he also took to the catholic faith
and was one of those odd desperate souls who knew
the reception of the eucharist as often as possible
and it was said he was so devoutely catholic
and so constantly repentant of his sins
that he was thought to have saintly bearing
if only he wouldn't go out at night
and get wasted and laid all over again
Max Jacob took up refuge
in the benedictine abbey of San Benoit on the Loire
outside of Orleans
and it was there he found the meaning of his life
it seems at some point Max had a vision
and something in this vision told him
he was to be a follower of christ
his art his poetry his writings are considered
to be the essential link between symbolist styles
and surrealist styles he was i guess
a protosurrealist
until he was captured and shipped out
of france as a jew destined for auschwitz doom
he lived the life of a benedictine monk
attending prayer tending the garden
extending hospitality
and reading and praying in quiet

he found himself not by way of art
or political philosophy or behavioural temperament
but by placing himself in direct encounter
with the religious phenomenon that seeks
by its very nature to transcend the boxings
of nation culture temperament or politics
his last wish of being buried as a catholic
despite the political cause of his death
was granted

i'm interested in learning more about Max Jacob

The second article i read in the same catholic rag
was an interview with Dave Brubeck
who at 88 is still rippin it up on the piano
he's really ivory 88
Brubeck had been commissioned at one point
to compose a Mass setting for a church
but the priest in charge pointed out
that he had left out the Lord's Prayer
Brubeck resisted changing his score
for he believed he'd completed the work
one night he was in the caribbean with his wife
and he dreamed a full orchestra and chorus
rendition of the Lord's Prayer which he wrote down
as soon as he could
and then decided it was time to enter the Catholic Church
he claims in the interview that the progression
was as logical and simple as could be
now he's the great american advocate for
good music in church
a real important task for much of what passes
for music in catholic circles these days
is quite dreadful

so i'm swingin today
to the pianovibes of Dave Brubeck
and the inspiration of Max Jacob
i also recently finished
a novel written by KIRBY OLSON
the title - TEMPING
a very fine and humorous story
about schlepping through life
in abject uncertainty and
dare i say
bewilderment
i strongly support the avid reading
of such literary trash
it is good for the soul
and you will chuckle
that's the main thing

and perhaps i'll be back here
in six weeks time

every day's a year of trudging
through the desert once again
the 40 days of lent

every good pilgrimage begins with
ashes on the head

j