Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (Blog 14)

"I didn't know what justice was. Now that the revolution was finally over once and for all, I abandoned the dialectic materialism of my comic strips. The only place I felt safe was in the arms of my friend." (Satrapi 53)

This clip of the comic strip hit me sort of hard, and bounced around my mind quite a bit. A question has been asked at what point do we allow the children to risk safety to stand up to what they believe, and at what point do we keep them in the safety of a protected environment?

I reread the story, and realized how much there is being tossed around. Marji moves from hearing everything but being allowed to act on nothing, forming thoughts and ideas on her own in her mind. She started seeing contradictions in her own home and what was being said (like when she spoke about riding in the Cadillac on page 6 and 33) so she decided to protest anyway. She goes on to hear about what happened and is told to forgive, justice will be served. A bit later, her mother tells her that "bad people are dangerous but forgiving them is too. Don't worry, there is justice on earth." But when thinking about all those who were lost and everything Marji was told up through this point, how can a child understand and process all that is to be done? It is confusing enough for an adult to be supporting and fighting for a cause, as more information comes out thoughts usually change at least slightly, but how does a child take it all?

This quote spells it pretty clearly, sometimes no matter how badly we want to fight for something, we need to take the time to process it all. When it came down to it, the only constant, reliable thing in Marji's life was God. What a scary place to be as a child.

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver (Blog 13)

"Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine./Meanwhile the world goes on./Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain/are moving across the landscapes" (lines 6-9)

These lines are important in this poem because it is a turning point. Oliver begins by saying (in simple terms) we do not have to be perfect, we just have to let out what is in us. Throughout lines six to nine the poem shows a direct partnership and compassion in a world that seems to move on regardless of what happens to "you". Throughout the poem Oliver uses the world "meanwhile" showing that the world moves on, but she ends with saying how related each person is to the "nature of things".

I really liked lines six to nine because it presents a relationship available to all, knowing all is connected, yet realizing the world will continue to move on despite an individual's mindset.

Rober Graves - Counting the Beats (blog 12)

A possible paraphrase...

If there was only you and I in love, with nothing else, why should we care? Our hearts slowly beating throughout time, we are awake. Today is beautiful, but eventually the storm will come. She asks "Where will we be when our time is up? Who were we?" He responds, "It makes no difference, for we will forever be here, together- Love lasts." As our hearts beat slowly through the depth of time, they are together, awake in the moment.