Set salms

El text de la darrera obra de Paul Simon, Seven Psalms, potser el darrer treball que ens oferirà...

The Lord

"I've been thinking about the great migration

Noon and night they leave the flock

And I imagine their destination

Nettle grass, jagged rock

The Lord is my engineer

The Lord is the earth I ran on

The Lord is the face in the atmosphere

The path I slip and slide

Tu lu, lulu lu...

Crystal comet

Starlit night

Silver moon

To smooth the edge of daylight

Now turned the evening rose

Tribal voices

Old and young

Celebrations

A history of family sung

The endless river flows

The Lord is my engineer

The Lord is the earth I ran on

The Lord is a face in the atmosphere

The path I'll slip and I'll slide on

The Lord is a virgin forest

The Lord is a forest ranger

The Lord is a meal for the poorest of the poor

A welcome door to the stranger

Tu lu, lulu lu...

Tears and flowers

Dry over time

Memories leave us

Melody and rhyme

When the cold wind blows

The seeds we gather

From the gardener's glove

Live forever

Nothing dies of too much love

The Lord

The Lord is the earth I ride on

The Lord is the face in the atmosphere

The path I'll slip, and I'll slide on

The Lord is a virgin forest

The Lord is a forest ranger

The Lord is a meal for the poorest

A welcome door to the stranger

The Covid virus is The Lord

The Lord is the ocean rising

The Lord is a terrible swift song

A simple truth

Surviving

Tu lu, lulu lu...

Love Is Like a Braid

Love is like a braid

Some say that I that'll disbelieve it

Cowry shells

Fine combs made of jade

To ornament and weave it

I lived a life of pleasant sorrows

Until the real deal came

Broke me like a twig in a winter gale

Call me by my name

And in that time of prayer and waiting

Where doubt and reason dwell

A jury sat deliberating

All is lost

Or all is well

Home, home, sun on my doorstep

Shocks me to find

I'm a child again entwined

In your love

In your light

In your cool summer shade

The garden keeps a rose and a thorn

And once the choice is made

All that's left

Is mending what was torn

Love is like a braid

Love is like a braid

My Professional Opinion

Good morning, Mr Indignation

Looks like you haven't slept all night

In my professional opinion

Go back to bed and turn off your light

I'm not a doctor or a preacher

I've no particular guiding star

In my professional opinion

I'm no more satisfied than you are

So, what in the world we whispering for?

Everyone's thinking there's nothing to hide

Come carry my grievances down to the shore

Wash 'em away in the tumbling tide

I heard two cows in a conversation

One called the other one a name

In my professional opinion

All cows in the country must bear the blame

So, all rise to the occasion

Or all sink into despair

In my professional opinion

We're better off not going there

Oh, what in the world we whispering for?

Everyone's making there's nothing to hide

Go carry my grievances down to the shore

Wash 'em away in the tumbling tide

Wash 'em away in the tumbling tide

Wash 'em away in the tide

All that really matters is the one who became us

Anointed and gained us with his opinion

The Lord Reprise

The Lord is my engineer

The Lord is the earth I ride on

The Lord is a face in the atmosphere

The path I'll slip and I'll slide on

The Lord is a virgin forest

The Lord is a forest ranger

The Lord is a meal for the poorest of the poor

A welcome door to the stranger

The Covid virus is The Lord

The Lord is the ocean rising

The Lord is a terrible swift song

A simple truth, surviving

Tu lu, lulu lu...

Your Forgiveness

Yesterday's boy is gone

Driving through darkness

Searching for your forgiveness

Is sorrow a beautiful song?

Lives in the heart and sings for all

Your Forgiveness

Inside the digital mind

A homeless soul ponders the cold

Of forgiveness

And I the last in the line

Hoping the gates won't be closed before

Your forgiveness

Dip your hand in Heaven's waters

God's imagination

Dip your hand in Heaven's waters

All of life's abundance in a drop of condensation

Dip your hand in Heaven's waters

Ooh, ooh

I, I have my reasons to doubt

There is a case to be made

Two billion heartbeats and out

Waving a flag in the last parade

I have my reasons to doubt

Dip your hand in Heaven's waters

God's imagination

Dip your hand in Heaven's waters

All of life's abundance in a drop of condensation

Dip your hand in Heaven's waters

I have my reasons to doubt

The white light eases the pain

Two billion heartbeats and out

Or does it all begin again?

Dip your hand in Heaven's waters

God's imagination

All of life's abundance in a drop of condensation

Trail of Volcanoes

When I was young

I carried my guitar down to the crossroads

And over the seas

Now those old roads are a trail of volcanoes

Exploding with refugees

It seems to me

We're all walking down the same road

To wherever it ends

The pity is

The damage that's done

Leaves so little time for amends

The Sacred Harp

A change of mood

A summer storm erased the sunny sky

Two hapless hitchhikers were signalling us

As we were cruising by

Not in the mood

For idle chat, for hitchhiker company

Nevertheless, we took them on

This highway courtesy

"Hurry, get yourselves inside the truck

We're just going up a ways

The rain should turn to mist with any luck

And you can find a place to stay"

The woman spoke, her voice a blend of regional perfumes:

"We have no destination

The moon and the stars provide us with our rooms

My boy and me were refugees of sorts from my hometown

Then all life different now

They would have mowed us down

He doesn't talk much anymore

Just to the voices in his head"

The boy just gazed down at the floor

And nodded once or twice

At what she said

The sacred harp

That David played to make his songs of praise

We long to hear those strains

That set his heart ablaze

The ringing strings

The thought that God turns music into bliss

We left the pickup in the driveway

The moon appeared as amber in the mist

The Lord Reprise

The Lord is a puff of smoke

That disappears when the winds blow

The Lord is my personal joke

My reflection in the window

I've been thinking about our troubled nature

A benediction and a curse

Are we all just trial and error

One of a billion in the universe

Tu lu, lulu lu...

The Lord is my engineer

The Lord is my record producer

The Lord is the music I hear

Deep in the valley and the scene

The Lord is my engineer

The Lord is the train I ride on

The Lord is the coast, the coast is clear

The path I slip and slide on

Tu lu, lulu lu...

Wait

Wait

I'm not ready

I'm just packing my gear

Wait

My hand's steady

My mind is still clear

I hear the ghost songs and old

Jumpin', jivin', moanin'

Through a heart broken microphone

Wait

Life is a meteor

Let your eyes roam

Heaven is beautiful

It's almost like home

Children get ready

It's time to come home

I want to believe in

A dreamless transition

Wait

I don't want to be near

My dark intuition

I need you here by my side

My beautiful mystery guide

Wait

Life is a meteor

Let your eyes roam

Heaven is beautiful

It's almost like home

Children get ready

It's time to come home

Amen"

Esplendor matinal

Som un jardí

Clyfford Still 1978

"President: Som un jardí:

Tots: Una comunitat de moltes varietats diferents que creixen juntes,

necessitem aigua, sol i terra.

Tenim una font.

Vivim els uns al costat dels altres, respectant-nos mútuament,

mantenint les nostres identitats,

com un lliri i un clavell.

President: Ens unim:

Tots: Per descobrir que tenim un llenguatge comú:

els nostres fills, les nostres famílies.

President: Busquem:

Tots: Conèixer-nos.

President: Necessitem:

Tots: Construir sobre aquestes experiències de comunitat,

estar plens de cura per les persones de totes les religions.

Creiem que els nostres fills poden ser amics d'altres nens

que poden no assemblar-se a ells, que poden tenir creences diferents,

que tenen orígens diferents.

Creiem que les barreres són a les nostres ments; la justícia, la pau

i la comprensió finalment prevaldran.

Creiem que compartim un origen comú com a éssers humans;

som fills del mateix creador.

Creiem en la dignitat i el valor de tots els éssers humans.

Sabem que el món és prou gran per a tots nosaltres."

Membres de les Comunitats Musulmanes i Unitàries Universalistes de Greater Dayton, Ohio (a For Praying Out Loud: Interfaith Prayers for Public Occasions de L. Annie Foerster (2003)

Text original:

"LEADER: We are a garden:

ALL: A community of many different varieties growing

together,

we need water, sun, and soil.

We have one source.

We live alongside one another, respecting one another,

maintaining our identities,

like an iris and a carnation.

LEADER: We come together:

ALL: To discover we have a common language:

our children.

our families.

LEADER: We seek:

ALL: To know one another.

LEADER: We need:

ALL: To build on these experiences of community,

to be full of care for people of all faiths.

We believe in our children being friends with other children

who may not look like them, who may hold different

beliefs, who have different backgrounds.

We believe the barriers are in our minds; justice, peace, and

understanding will ultimately prevail.

We believe we share a common origin as human beings; we

are children of the same creator.

We believe in the dignity and worth of all human beings.

We know the world is big enough for all of us."

Núvols i lluna 8

Mort i societat

Franz Kline 1954

"La mort és de l'ordre de la "gravitas", de la dimensió seriosa i profunda de la vida humana. No sé si la nostra societat està perdent capacitat per expressar i compartir aquesta dimensió."

(tuit d'en Rai de 10.08.2026)

Joc musical

Kupka 1921

Un joc musical: escoltar una música en grup. En acabar l'audició, els participants trien un màxim de cinc paraules (de les que hi ha a continuació) i comparen els resultats. Tornar a fer el mateix una segona i una tercera vegada, i observar si hi ha canvis en la tria de les paraules.

Llistat de paraules:

- avorrida

- pesada

- desagradable

- depriment

- obsessiva

- inquietant

- angoixant

- insuportable

- trista

- nostàlgica

- fúnebre

- freda

- dispersa

- lleugera

- frívola

- intranscendent

- incomprensible

- austera

- silenciosa

- sentimental

- boja

- grandiloqüent

- seriosa

- serena

- solemne

- grandiosa

- interessant

- suau

- dolça

- airosa

- correcta

- distreta

- graciosa

- animada

- agradable

- divertida

- alegre

- bonica

- deliciosa

- optimista

- esperançada

- emocionant

- encantadora

- impressionant

- vibrant

- preciosa

- fascinant

- fantàstica

- genial

Veracitat

Euan Uglow 1954

"N'hi ha prou que una única persona tingui el valor de dir la veritat per augmentar la veracitat en tot l'univers."

Stefan Zweig a La curació a través de l'esperit (1931), l'excel·lent part del qual dedicada a Freud fou publicada en català per Fragmenta Editorial el 2025.

(tuit d'en Rai de 06.04.2026)

Maria de Velázquez

Velázquez 1618

Quina preciosa Mare de Déu, aquesta de Velázquez!

Bisbes catalans

Saura 1959

"Tot i la seva incidència política, la reivindicació "Volem bisbes catalans" és sobretot una defensa d'una determinada concepció autònoma de l'Església local i de l'Església global com a suma d'Esglésies locals. És important. Sí, volem bisbes catalans!"

(tuit d'en Rai de 13.07.2026)

Imatges per al silenci XLVI

Francis Bacon 1965

"El silenci és una agressió al propi jo."

(tuit d'en Rai de 12.01.2025)