Cristina Jill

Late Ripeness “Not soon, as late as the approach of my ninetieth year, I felt a door opening in me and I entered the clarity of early morning. One after another my former lives were departing, like ships, together with their sorrow. And the countries, cities, gardens, the bays of seas assigned to my brush came closer, ready now to be described better than they were before. I was not separated from people, grief and pity joined us. We forget - I kept saying - that we are all children of the King. For where we come from there is no division into Yes and No, into is, was, and will be. We were miserable, we used no more than a hundredth part of the gift we received for our long journey. Moments from yesterday and from centuries ago - a sword blow, the painting of eyelashes before a mirror of polished metal, a lethal musket shot, a caravel staving its hull against a reef - they dwell in us, waiting for a fulfillment. I knew, always, that I would be a worker in the vineyard, as are all men and women living at the same time, whether they are aware of it or not.” ~ Czeslaw Milosz ~ My name is Cristina Jill Mosqueda Cooper. I pause looking at my name, and think about how much there is to explain with those words alone. My mother gave me a name to use in each of my worlds, Cristina for my Cuban life, and Jill for the American life. I suppose it is there were the paradoxes of my life began. I have been many things in my life, from a housekeeper to a high school history teacher; but no matter what else I did, I was always a writer. I love words and the power and passion which they can be used to create. I love reading words, writing words, speaking words, and listening to words – especially words from people that I love and respect. It is my desire to live life on my own terms, and willingly or not, I have paid the price demanded, by the world, to be myself. I share my life with Kate, with whom I have lived for the last 23 years, and Miss Merry Margaret, our little mutt who really is the world’s most perfect dog. I also travel, cook, garden, sculpt, and make large messes doing all of the above. Welcome to my world, that is all for now.

Web Site: http://thatisallfornow.com


Remembering Nine-Eleven

November 11, 2011

Nine-Eleven Memorial Freeport, Maine   I do not know why it surprised me, but it did. At the end of a quick trip to Freeport, Maine, as we were leaving town, driving down Main Street, these two steel beams, caught my eye, and we decided to stop and take a look. I was not...
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Art

November 10, 2011

 To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~ Spring in Boston by Sergio Roffo Yes, I am well aware that autumn is upon us, and winter is around the corner, nevertheless, I offer you Spring in Boston (1994), a bright, vibrant...
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A View from the Road

November 10, 2011

  Walden Pond “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.  I did not wish to live what...
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From the Editor

November 10, 2011

A Personal Journey A few nights ago, my Mother had a heart attack.  She is doing better, though still dealing with a wide array of health issues.  This afternoon, sitting in her room, watching her sleep, I called my very dear friend Shahnaz.  Every time we speak, though separated by thousands of miles, it...
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Poet’s Corner

November 10, 2011

   The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost   Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;   Then took the other, as just as...
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In the Garden

November 3, 2011

Reflecting Autumn It is a wonder to behold autumn reflected in flowing streams, rivers, and ponds. I love watching the leaves dancing on the water. Swept to the edge
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In the Wild!

October 23, 2011

Starfish   The quality of these pictures, are not what I wish they were; I think I was so excited to see the clinging starfish, that I did not hold the camera still.   However, the subject matter is so enthralling, that I have decided to share them anyway. I wanted to pluck one...
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Poet’s Corner

October 18, 2011

Sisters   We need to mourn with our sisters. We need to mourn for their loss. We need to mourn for their pain. We need to mourn for their death.   We need to cry for our sisters. When our sisters have been raped When our sisters have been beaten When our sisters have...
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A View from the Road

October 14, 2011

  Frost on the Pumpkins! I took Merry for a walk, in Georgtown, and long and behold — frost on the pumkins!  Enough said.
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In the Garden

October 12, 2011

An Abandoned Garden   I happened upon this abandoned garden, which had once been gingerly tended, and stopped enjoy these brilliant golden flowers, whose name I do not know.     The gated garden is now over crowded, but it cannot always have been in this state. Do you know the name of this...
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Art


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