rattus rattus’ blog

Conscience is the inner voice that warns us
somebody may be looking.

— H. L. Mencken

Once upon a time, there was a human ecologist. He came and said earnestly: Think globally, act locally!

And thus he did. He thought oh so globally, and he acted only locally. By chance, nobody knows him, but he lived happily ever after.

You can take it as a big open question or as a triviality.

— Francisco J. Varela

You can easily write down a sentence that when looked at closely makes no sense at all and, however, there will be quite some who think it does.

Who am I? — Of course, trivially I am I. But who says so? Who is I and who is I not? Can I trust this I?

Who am I? Who is me?
Am I the sum of my history, or am I more than the sum of it? Or less? I keep forgetting. Nature or nurture? Are my hopes and wishes part of me?

What about the collection of aches and pains that consume my body? How old am I? Old enough to kick my father’s butt? Am I ready to accept my rheumatic disorders? Or more? Where do I draw the line? On my birthday? When I die? Does death end my life, and me?

What have we forgotten about ourselves? There is this and that which I am proud of, what I believe in, and those I love. And there is everything else. I am the one to decide. So, it depends. I depend on me?

People keep asking: Who are you? — I’d like to answer honestly: I do not know. And I do, because there again is this I. I says about I that I does not know.

Maybe this is why trivial is not derived from a broad way but from three ways crossing at one point: The I that is me, the I that says I, and all that is not I.
Who said that?

Everything makes a difference,
which is why nothing makes a difference.

Das oft Wunderbare an Dichterinnen und Dichtern ist die Buntheit der Worte, die sie finden, wenn ihnen ein paar Worte fehlen.

Gonna Move (by Paul Pena)

When I was a little boy I felt so alone
Quiet country house that I had to call home
Living with a couple of folks, rich millionaires
Sat on their money, Lord, it seemed they didn’t care

Finally we moved to our own place
Where I could walk around with a smile on my face
And I knew in order to be a man
I had to pull up my roots and move on in this land

I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there
I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there

Came to a school in the big city
Looked around at the lights and I thought they were pretty
They told me and teached me to live by their rules
So I wouldn’t be nobody’s fool

I found out, not too long
Their rules wouldn’t let me sing my song
I know in order to be a man
I had to pull up roots once again and move on in this land

I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there
I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there

Then I joined the college ranks
There they said they’d teach me how to think
They gave me books to read and papers to write
They didn’t know about this boy’s coming fight

But I found out that after a while
Reading those books was making me lose my smile
And I knew in order to not conceal
I had to play music and express what I feel

I’m gonna move away from here
You can find me if you wanna go there
I’m gonna move…

Gonna move away from here …
Jump on the train, come on …
Come on and ride, you will see …
We gonna get there in a little while …
Come on with me …

Roll on, roll on, roll on …

If it ain’t fast enough
we’re gonna jump on a plane
…

(Song and lyrics are by Paul Pena; this transcription of lyrics was done by Andreas Schamanek.)