...But It's Getting There

It's Still Not Dark Yet

Last week, Not Dark Yet surpassed 500,000 page-views. I am thankful for any visits made to these blog pages and would like to take this moment to highlight some of the more popular posts so far this year. 

My most popular essay this year is “A Place a Place of Gratitude.” In fact, since I posted it in January, it has continued to rank number one on the blog list of “Popular posts.” I don’t think any other post has remained in first place for that long (almost six months in the number one spot, and over 1200 page-views so far).

 
A re-post in February was spurred by our nation’s dealing with refugees. In the poem, “Emigres,” I attempt to offer some insight from the point-of-view of a refugee family.    

“Have We Become a Nation of Day Laborers?” takes a look into the state of work and employment, showing how “From college profs to the loading docks, we're seeing changes in the workplace.”  

“Pot Luck Sunday at the Weaker Brethren Community Church” takes a look at how one might approach those who hold stricter religious views.

“Opportunity’s Last Call” is a poem inspired by the final transmission of the Mars rover, “Opportunity.”

Helen McNicoll was a Canadian artist of the Impressionist movement. Her work inspired a series of haiku which I wrote for my Saturday Haiku feature. You can see that series listed with links to each haiku at “Canadian Artist Helen McNicoll.”

“Birmingham Bards & Brews” is a spoken word event that happens at the Birmingham Public Library on the first Friday night of each month (except December). I did a blog post about the event last March.

“Make a News Road” examines the possible influence of Spanish poet Antonio Machado in an episode of the new Star Trek series, Discovery.

So many of us were affected by the tragic fire that gutted the Notre Dame Cathedral. I composed a Maundy Thursday Prayer for the Notre Dame Cathedral in response to that event.

“Remembering Harper Lee” is a re-post in honor of the author’s birthday which looks at Nelle Lee as one who exemplified the classic hero’s journey.

“Why Pray?” takes a personal look at how liturgical prayer, as in the 1979 Prayer Book of the Episcopal Church, can shape one’s outlook for the better.

Thank you to all who stop to read some of what this blog has to offer. I have not even touched upon the recipes, music, and humor shared, so there is more to peruse when you have the time. Comments are welcome, and readership is always appreciated.

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A Brief Look Back

Here is a brief rundown of a few of the popular posts on Not Dark Yet over the past quarter.

There are two features that occur without fail each week. Every Monday, I share a musical offering (usually from YouTube). By far, the most popular Monday Music offering this past quarter was by Nat King Cole, "When I Grow to Old to Dream." On Saturdays, I post an original haiku. The haiku that received the most views during the last three months was "Inner Woods" (which was accompanied by a painting by e.e. cummings).

Personal essay is another primary feature on my blog. I try to have a variety of topics ranging from social commentary to spirituality to human interest and literary topics. The most widely read essay this time was "On Spiritual Practice, Poetry, and the Inadequacy of Language." 

After the tragic shooting in Pittsburgh at the Tree of Life Synagogue, I wrote an essay, "Standing with Friends in Synagogue," in which I recounted my visit to The Great Synagogue in Florence, Italy. 

One of my posts from 2012 always gets renewed interest each winter, "Winter Solstice and a Poem for the Longest Night." That post features one of my poems, "To Zarathustra," and I was pleased that once again it was one of the most frequently viewed posts this time.

I re-posted some of my journalistic poems last fall, one of which was "No Time for Weeping," which was an appeal to greater care for the environmental. Then I reworked one of my previous posts on Hildegard of Bingen which I titled, "The Feminine Voice for a Pivotal Age," and was pleased that it was one of my more popular posts.  

A Place of Gratitude is another re-post that I thought would be a good way to begin the new year. It turned out to be another one of my most frequently viewed post for the entire quarter.

In connection with Martin Luther King Day observance, I found a video with King's "I Have a Dream speech." I shared that 17-minute video because I felt that it was important to take the time to listen to the entire speech at this time when we find ourselves hoping for some glimpses of the better angels of our nature.

Last month I included a book review.  Bluebird, Bluebird, by Attica Locke, is a suspenseful page-turner of a novel.  A great story with fully developed characters, but more than that, the writing is sheer beauty.

Thanks to all readers, followers, and visitors to this blog site. I hope you will continue to stop to peruse my offerings each week!

Bob Dylan and the Midrash

Some time back, I happened upon a blog site, Bright Terrible Spirit, that shed some light on how Jewish wisdom was a source for a line in the Bob Dylan song from which this blog takes its name. Here is how the blog entry begins:

Not Dark Yet: Midrash on Midrash
by Chris Floyd

In an interview with the Jewish Ledger, Seth Rogovoy, author of a new book on Jewish themes in the work of Bob Dylan, makes this interesting connection:

More recently, in his song “Not Dark Yet,” Dylan sings, “I was born here and I’ll die here/Against my will.” That’s a direct lift from the Pirkei Avot 4:29: “Against your will you were born. Against your will you will die.”

Rogovoy’s identification of the Midrash as the source for one of the most powerful lines in one of Dylan’s most powerful songs is indeed an astute work of scholarship, giving us a genuinely new insight into the song. What is equally interesting is to go back to the original text, and see how Dylan does not just appropriate it, he also ‘turns’ it in a new direction…

You can find the complete essay here. It is well worth reading. You might want to read about Not Dark Yet and the Midrash, then go back to my blog post on January 1 to hear the song, if you haven't already heard it.

The book is that is referred to is Bob Dylan: Prophet, Mystic, Poet by Seth Rogovoy. You can read a review of the book here.

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Not Dark Yet 2011

Not Dark Yet
by Bob Dylan


Shadows are falling and I’ve been here all day

It’s too hot to sleep, time is running away

Feel like my soul has turned into steel

I’ve still got the scars that the sun didn’t heal

There’s not even room enough to be anywhere

It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there



Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain

Behind every beautiful thing there’s been some kind of pain

She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind

She put down in writing what was in her mind

I just don’t see why I should even care

It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there



Well, I’ve been to London and I’ve been to gay Paree

I’ve followed the river and I got to the sea

I’ve been down on the bottom of a world full of lies

I ain’t looking for nothing in anyone’s eyes

Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear

It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there



I was born here and I’ll die here against my will

I know it looks like I’m moving, but I’m standing still

Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb

I can’t even remember what it was I came here to get away from

Don’t even hear a murmur of a prayer

It’s not dark yet, but it’s getting there



Copyright © 1997 by Special Rider Music



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Year-End Review

It was one year ago, on December 31, 2009, that I launched this blog. My wife had been encouraging me to do it. “You could put some of your writings out there, and you could talk about some of the things you comment on every day when we watch the news,” she said. So I decided to give it a try. Not Dark Yet seemed the perfect title, inspired by the song by Bob Dylan. I began my blog as a place to share essays, poetry, commentary about current events and other things that mattered to me. I stated in that first blog entry, “My interests include poetry, religion, politics, nature, conservation, and striving toward the common good. This blog will cover observations of life and shared events.” 136 posts later, I am now looking over a year's worth of blogging.

The entries that I most enjoyed writing include my recollections of my father (September), and my “Explorations of Mystery and Wonder” (May). I weighed in on the healthcare debate early in the year. The darkest observation points for me involved certain Supreme Court decisions. I included some poetry, thoughts on spirituality, childhood experiences, and a tribute to my beloved Mr. Higgins (February). I’ve also tried to let Bob Dylan make some “cameo” appearances from time to time (he appears 11 times in the blog labels – “poetry’ is the only label with more occurrences).

Back in June, Blogger began making statistics available so I could see how many people were viewing the blog. Since they started keeping track in June, there have been some 4,600 pageviews from at least 24 countries. I’m even able to track the most popular postings. Here are the Top ten entries according to the number of pageviews:

1. Southern Nights and Stereotypes – A look at Rick Bragg’s All Over but the Shoutin’.
This one is far out ahead of the others, with over 650 page views.

2. Wendell Berry and the Sacred Task of Writing – One that I sat down and wrote on the spur of the moment after being inspired by a radio discussion of one of Mr. Berry’s books.

3. Tibetan Sand Mandala: Precision and Prayer – My “photo journalistic” attempt to document the monks’ visit to Birmingham.

4. Icons: What’s in a Name? – This was the quirkiest piece that I posted. I was always bothered that I couldn’t get those 21st century icons lined up symmetrically. Then when I saw how many people were viewing it, I went back to rework it, swapping out a picture that I could make line up properly.

5. An Ordinary Life – I am very glad that this piece about my friend, Meg Parker, made the top 10 list. It looks back on a foundational period in my life.

6. Finding Christmas – an important essay for me, I’m glad some other people liked it.

7. When Faiths Collide – a review of Martin Marty’s book. I thought the book had something important to say about interfaith dialogue.

8. Don’t Take my Word for It – One of my tributes to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

9. My Back Pages – A fun video from a celebration of Bob Dylan’s music. Although I didn’t mention it at the time, my birthday was the occasion for posting that one (“I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now”).

10. Songs for Christmas: Christmas Time is Here – It warmed my heart that Charlie Brown made the top 10 list!

And honorable mention goes to:

11. Every Grain of Sand – this one was holding in the top 10 until it was edged out by Charlie Brown’s Christmas. I keep it in the list just because it stands as a great work by Bob Dylan.

Blogger’s tabulation of countries represented by viewers includes The United States, Russia, Canada, Spain, The Netherlands, Germany, Brazil, France, Denmark, The United Kingdom, Croatia, Slovenia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Australia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Belgium, India, Saudi Arabia, The Philippines, Italy, Albania, and Israel.

I’ve had fun with the blogging this year. Many thanks to all who have followed this blog, and a special thanks to those who have shared their comments along the way. I look forward to another year. Who knows what topics will arise in the months ahead?



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Not Dark Yet (Reprise)

Today this blog has been online for six months. I thought I'd reprise my original post as a way of doing a self check, to see if I'm doing what I said I would do on New Years Eve. In addition, I'm including a video of Dylan's song so you can hear the song that inspired the name of this blog.

Here is the original post:

“Not Dark Yet…” you may remember this as the title to one of Bob Dylan’s songs on his "Time Out of Mind" CD. I have borrowed that phrase for the title of my blog, because I like the imagery it evokes. My interests include poetry, religion, politics, nature, conservation, and striving toward the common good. This blog will cover observations of life and shared events. If the politics and religion aspect get too heated, there is always the mediating influence of poetry. Billy Collins, U.S. poet laureate from 2001 to 2003, says that every poem is about death and gratitude. The awareness of death heightens the beauty of the world as we see it. As one who attempts to write poetry, I heartily agree with that notion. Poetry conveys that sense of awareness and gratitude.

So in this space you will see political commentary, personal observations, spiritual questions, maybe a poem from time to time or some pertinent literary references. My emphasis, I anticipate, will always be on the “Not dark yet,” but in the background there is always Bob Dylan’s reminder (as any good poet will affirm) “Not dark yet, but it’s gettin’ there.”

And here is the video: