2021: the song "in the end" by ida maria.

what a world we've been living in since 2020 now into 2020. it almost thieves my ability to formulate what the hell to say or write anymore, with so many complex factors of hardships across so many people's lives, on top of how difficult the world already was before the drastic changes we've been enduring. but in the midst of this, there is always the gift of contrast, something there to teach us to weigh the pros against the cons, to lift the veil around us a bit to see the good messily mixed in with the bad. this is a part of that, in the lessons we're here to learn.

x-posted from the blog for remembering artist, comedian, & poet frank kelso wolfe and the garden harlot—

i am pretty sure i burned frank a CD copy of the album ''fortress round my heart'' from 2008 by ida maria years ago and that he ended up telling me later how much he liked it, that it really stood out to him. i wish i remembered specifics, but it's more the feeling of it, what i remember best, and that's probably what really counts.

norgwegian musician ida maria børli sivertsen has a lot of upbeat, vibe-you-on-up songs, the kinds built to make you want to dance the hell around. and i love those from her plenty.

but ''in the end'' is a song by her which i love in its slower degrees of movement, one always reminding to slow down in myself, stilling enough to see what's beautiful around me and in what i've known, like the moments i had with frank in our friendship.

this photo below of red-petaled tulips off in the distance is from a springtime walk i took during my workday. it reminds me of catching up fast, to glimpse and capture the scene, and to slow down in appreciating what it can bring to a single heart or perhaps a few or more hearts than just this one in our world. and i feel like noticing art around me to photograph is frank nudging and tapping at me sometimes from the inside, a welcome reminder for me to document would-be missed art for myself and also so others can learn about its existence to experience.

and below here is the song ''in the end'' by ida maria. at least a few times a year, i remember that it's out there, and i play it on repeat. please enjoy it for your heart and for frank's.