Goodbye Sagittarius

Isn’t it time that, loving, we freed ourselves from the beloved, and trembling, endured as the arrow endures the bow, so as to be, in its flight, something more than itself?  For staying is nowhere.  Rainer Maria Rilke, b. Dec 4, 1875

Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovic and her partner Ulay were both born on November 30, three years apart. This coincidence played an acknowledged role in their collaborations. The audio in the performance piece “Rest-Energy” is their amplified heart-beat and respiration. Reminds me of a poem by Sagittarius James Tate, “A Sunday Drive”:

“What am I supposed to do?” I said. “I think you’d

have to put an arrow through me,” she replied.

“I don’t have an arrow,” I said, “and besides I

could never do that. I love you!” "I think the

flying disease is for life,” she said, gliding

over me. Then she was gone in a blur of light.

More on Sagittarian poet James Tate here.