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


The Poet’s Corner

August 4, 2010
The Poet’s Corner

Toy Maker   Here I sit waiting for my toy maker to take me from his shelf. He will wind me up and set me into motion. I will be posed and pulled. I will tilt my head and smile. Or turn around and cry. Just as my toy maker commands. I could have...
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From the Editor

August 4, 2010
From the Editor

¡Salud, amor y pesetas, y tiempo para disfrutarlos! How do we know that we are alive? Living and existing are not the same.  At what point are we living and when simply existing – what is the difference?  Sitting in the waiting room for the intensive care unit, I met a family which had...
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Action Update

August 1, 2010
Action Update

“Iran is routinely criticized for its human rights record and continues to lead the world in executing juvenile offenders. According to the Human Rights House of Iran, the state has executed 19 people in the last month alone, and amputated the hands of five prisoners.” http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/07/iran-wife-and-brotherinlaw-of-human-rights-lawyer-held-hostage-by-authorities.html There have been two significant developments in Sakineh...
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From the Editor

July 30, 2010
From the Editor

Joan Hayden The heat seems endless this year.  I have just come in from watering the plants on my porch, and giving a drink of water to the ducks.  Oddly, our ducks prefer to be on land, rather than cooling themselves in the lake.  I have recently transplanted my bay leaf tree and a...
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Art

July 29, 2010

  To love a painting is to feel that this presence is… not an object but a voice. ~ Andre Malraux ~    Art can never exist without naked beauty displayed. ~William Blake ~    Dona Isabel de Porcel  by Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes, the Spanish master.
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Favorite Books

July 25, 2010
Favorite Books

My Ántonia By Willa Cather “Although I admired scholarship so much in Cleric, I was not deceived about myself; I knew that I should never be a scholar. I could never lose myself for long among impersonal things. Mental excitement was apt to send me with a rush back to my own naked land...
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Housekeeping

July 25, 2010
Housekeeping

I got the blues thinking of the future, so I left off and made some marmalade. It’s amazing how it cheers one up to shred oranges and scrub the floor. ~ D. H. Lawrence ~ The Archives are finally finished!   I am deeply pleased to be able to offer you the opportunity to read...
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The Poet’s Corner

July 23, 2010

Finally Just dip your little head in Go on You will be so happy No, Do not leave Please, wait It is so hot Go back That is right Yes, you have it Go on It will be okay I promise Finally The baby ducks have found the water
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In the Garden

July 18, 2010
In the Garden

  Only Orchids   We are in those dog days of summer, longing for cooler nights.  The winds start to pick-up, and the trees sway in step.  As if God has heard my cries, the rains suddenly begin.  The clouds burst open with giant drops, but it is only a passing shower – just...
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A View from the Road

July 18, 2010

 A View of Portland Headlight Portland Headlight, in Cape Elizabeth, Maine – the quintessential view of the rocky Maine coast.  The lighthouse was actually commissioned by George Washington, and her lamps were originally lit with whale oil.
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Art


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