If I had an island
If I had an Island,
I'd sit on the beach in the sun, with no worries of anyone.
I'd listen to the waves and sounds of life,
I would watch it too.
I'd hope there would be crabs or lizards
Minding our own business we could peacefully appreciate one another.
While I sit I'd use my hands to sift, letting each grain run through, as they fall home again.
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How to Set up an Aquarium/Fish Tank
Making your Aquarium Fish Safe! What you'll Need: Fish tank, Heater, and a Filter (Maybe). Fish will die if simply added to a glass of water. Especially water from the faucet. Water for fish should be conditioned with a water conditioner. These can be found at any pet store, and are easy to use as well as inexpensive. Follow the recommended dose on the back of the bottle, and add it to any water you add to your aquarium. These conditioners make the water safe for fish by removing chlorine and other chemicals from the water. They help lower the fishes stress and protect their bodies from these chemicals. In order to function though, a body of water, which is your aquarium in this case, needs to become an ecosystem. In the fish world, this is called "establishing." To create the ecosystem, within the gravel and filter, good bacteria needs to grow. Therefore the poop and other lively things are broken down by said bacteria. This keeps the aquarium water quality in good shape. If bacteria is not present, there will be ammonia spikes in the aquarium, which can easily kill fish. How do you get this precious bacteria? Well, the easy and impatient way is to just go buy a bottle of it. It goes by names such as "Safe Start" and can be found in any pet store. Just read the back and add the recommended dose to the tank, then you can add your fish. The old school way is to use "Hardy" fish to "Cycle"- "establish" or make the tank fish ready. Hardy fish are fish that can somewhat handle unstable water and ammonia spikes long enough for the tank to cycle. Basic hardy fish can be Molly's, Guppies, or Platys. This process can take 4-8 weeks. You can test your water parameters all you want, but it really isn't too necessary. There is no reason to obsess, as sometimes its best to just leave it alone. Just wait awhile and add your fish. Depending on your tank, a monthly water change may be needed.
By Mandee Wav5 years ago in Petlife
Foot Bindings
I asked my grandmother how she knew she'd fallen in love. I am not sure I ever did love him, she said. This was before I met my husband. I was naive, a naked spring, a raw nerve of a thing. That cannot ever be me, I knew. Sadness swept in gently like a Moscow thaw. It is no simple thing, looking into a woman's vast soul and seeing its foot bindings. Now, in Italy divorced with my skin singed off, when I say I don't love him mean: I have succeeded at feeling nothing most days and it mostly works. Do you want the comfort of Nothing? Do you want Nothing, too? Be warned: you'll never be free, even when you are nothing. Here is what doesn't work: Accepting the stages of grief. Talking about it. Sitting with the feeling. Missing him—no, the person you were when you believed in death do us part. Writing poetry. That, too. When I say I don't love him I mean: I feel capsized in an endless, starved tide. What sometimes works: selective memory. You must forget ripe tomatoes and his beard and feeling perfectly sheltered in a big blue world. Forget coffee in bed, laughter watching TV, blowing out the candles on the birthday cake and the quiet all-encompassing knowledge that you are chosen. Remember only how love turned to a banal everyday survival act, a trapeze act unsure whether he will catch you, how the warmth stagnated and became sour, remember the foot bindings and remember the resentment boiling in your veins as you stick it out for the kids. Six-hour Netflix binges help, too. A man's fingers tracing your spine. Frozen pizza at 2 a.m. Random trips to the museum just to stand near things that last a while. The realization that crying won’t change anything. Seeing that life is just a dream, and refusing to participate in your own suffering. Bite your fist. Walk on eggshells around joy. When I say I don't love him, I mean he didn’t break my heart, he just stopped touching it and it forgot how to beat right.
By Ella Bogdanovaabout 6 hours ago in Poets
Should We Not Try to Get Too Political?
Here's something you often hear people say, "I try not to get too political." I understand the sentiment and I sympathize with it... while at the same exact time, I completely disagree with the notion. Whether it's referring to social media or wherever, it's kind of unavoidable. You can attempt to sidestep it, not engage, leave the less important things for actual politicians to discuss... you can want it to not take over your life, your conversations, your relationships, and that makes perfect sense.
By Stephen Kramer Avitabile4 days ago in Writers
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