Little Window - a new poem by Anna Dagmar

Little window

Round on top

Light tunnels in

My little loft

I watch the pathway

Growing, rising

Early sun, each time

Surprising

Take me down a different hallway

Lead me to another door

Fit me through the tiny keyhole

Show me how the brightness pours

The floorboards creak

With little feet

But my eyes wander

So discreetly

Lift the latches

Listen in

People sleeping

Soft within

Looking forward, up ahead

A spiral staircase!

(Duck my head.)

Shall I go up?

Shall I go in?

The morning tickles hair on skin.

Dusty ledges

Aging wood

The years of doing others good

Give back time

In rhythms

Rhyming

Hesitant, but un-denying

Which door opens

When this one closes,

Twinkling midst

Such dark reposes?

Which knob chills

And which one burns?

One is locked

The other turns.

Travel down the crooked hallway

Lead me little light

(Still following)

Back behind the bookcase wallway

Down the upside staircase

Always through somehow

Yet hidden-in

Sacred message yearns within

An ancient passage, undiscovered

Gossimer, so lightly covered

Windows here and windows there

The curtains part like angels hair

New light pours in from the street

And meets the one brought by my feet

Time suspended - here at last

Connect my future to my past

Tears and trials and ever-hoping:

One door shuts

Another opens.

Um, a little jealous?

Imagine spending the fourth of July on a sailboat on Flathead Lake in Montana, and then waking up the next day to find rainbows in the sky? Yeah. It really happened to us:

Crossing paths with Natalia Zukerman

I got to Raleigh and who did I see listed in the newspaper? Natalia Zukerman! She's on stage here with Sam Baker and John Fullbright - two awesome songsters I met that night. I even got to play with them later in the evening and it was just such a treat! Wish you could have been there :) Maybe you were?

Salisubry is a mighty fine town

My NC travels took me east to Salisbury, to a lovely venue called The Blue Vine. Here I am here with my new cowgirl boots - trying to be a bit more southern... I'd go back there anyday!

Anna with Valorie Miller in Asheville

What a cool town! Reminds me of Missoula - very earthy, very green, and lots of interest in music. I played a show with my friend Valorie Miller (guitarist/singer-songwriter). Her songs have a lot of attitude! Here's our pic after the show at Bobo Gallery:

Eric better buy some clogs!

My brother is moving to Holland for 2 years to do a masters in Eco-Design. I'm so proud! But I'm also sad to see him go :( He's storing up his stuff though, so I know he'll be back! Good luck ERIC!!! We will miss you!!!

I'll update you later on his design projects - he's brilliant and wants to do the world good :)

J.S. Bawk (Chicken Dance Song)

Brazil Brazil Brazzzzzzzzzzzzzzilllllll

Some more fun pics from Ilha do Mel, and look...the sun!

Farol e Forteleza

Okay, every word sounds so great in Portuguese! I tried to sing some signs I read to the tune of Caetano Veloso songs I already know. And apparently when I actually sang Girl from Ipanema, my pronunciation wasn't bad! To bad I only know roughly what the words mean... There were two main sites on Honey Island - the lighthouse and the fort. Both worth treking to!

Here are some more fun pics from our trip! I love caprihnas, but here I'm trying some other delicious tropical drink. You have to be a little careful about water and ice down there, because we are not use to the bacteria that naturally occurs in their sources. But our host at das Conches has so many travelers from around the world, she knows exactly what people can safely eat, and uses spring water when needed. More about our hosts coming up!

Ilha do Mel, the Island of Honey

John and I took an incredible trip to Ilha do Mel, a few hours from Curitiba, Brazil! In this pic you'll see us on the beach - one of two beaches on either side of the pasada where we stayed. Honey Island is a very eco-friendly vacation spot - there are no cars, and at least now (end of season) hardly any people! Luckily John's Spanish got us by, because almost no one speaks English, and my attempts at Portuguese were pretty amusing.

Snow-shoes = no Feb. Blues

Alright folks, it's time to break out those snow-shoes. You know the ones. The wooden ones your parents kept tucked in a cobwebbed corner of the garage. Or you can spend some bucks on a nice new pair. Or you can do what I did...puppy dog eyes - I got some for Christmas! And I'll be busting them out this weekend on the not-so-slopes of Western, MA! It's cold out there, but you'd be surprised how soon you'll start sweating trying to walk on frozen water caked with snow.
Trying to keep my spirits up in winter, and I won't even get into the juicer I've been using every morning - save for another blog.
On a musical note, I had a very fun performance at 92Y Tribeca recently with my friends Adam Levy and Emilie Cardinaux. What great songwriters! I had the thrill of sitting in on their tunes by ear, and also premiering some of my own new songs. Here's a pic from the show (video coming soon!):

photo by Vinnie Mineo