During the wee hours of tomorrow morning, I will fly back to New York after about five beautiful days at a retreat for artist-activist folks at The Stone House in Mebane, North Carolina. I’ll write more about this place and these people and this land, but for my last day, I want to focus on being in it.
One of the retreat participants headed home earlier than the rest of us. When she got to her house, she came across this poem and sent it over:
Blessings
occur.
Some days I find myself
putting my foot in
the same stream twice;
leading a horse to water
and making him drink.
I have a clue.
I can see the forest
for the trees.
All around me people
are making silk purses
out of sows ears,
getting blood from turnips,
building Rome in a day.
Theres a business
like show business.
Theres something new
under the sun.
Some days misery
no longer loves company;
it puts itself out of its.
Theres rest for the weary.
Theres turning back.
There are guarantees.
I can be serious.
I can mean that.
You can quite
put your finger on it.
Some days I know
I am long for this world.
I can go home again.
And when I go
I can
take it with me.
-Ron Wallace
Photo: On the grounds of Stone Circles at the Stone House, August 2011.
juliacsmith 
thank you jcsmit…i love this.
Julia, so I’m the crazy USC SPPD rep that someone foolishly gave control of the Twitter and Facebook account to. Anyway, saw your blog link on your Twitter profile and came to check it out- amazing! Awesome photos, great poem by Ron Wallace- very impressed!
Patrick, Don’t tell Stan from PAFA, but you just got bumped to Favorite Admissions Rep status. See you tomorrow?
Sadly I won’t be there but you’ll get to meet my boss Marisol! But I’ll be at Chicago and SF Idealist at least- do you get to go with Chris to either of those?
Not this year, but you’ll love anyone from our team, and I bet our paths will magically cross at some point.