Ruth Ann Oskolkoff QUOTES

1 " The concert was magnificent. It was the second time she saw Floor and she loved them. Psychedelic rock. Indie. Hardcore. They always started with this great classic love song they sang a capella backstage while passing around some whisky. They each took a swig as they sang. The beautiful melodies that came out of this were amazing and the audience sang along. It was always a breathtaking moment. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

2 " This light represents the finest of all of us: Our art, poetry and songs, discoveries, creations, and science. Our ability to pick ourselves up from a broken, mad, fractured life and feel part of another, and be part of whatever this universe is. To have a little bit of hope in spite of the madly ruthless, even horrific, drumbeat of history. In the midst of ruin, to discover some sort of unimaginable grace. To hide from death for yet one more day. On this, the darkest day, people will light a candle for all of that. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

3 " For Zin, it felt like the center of space and time, in that moment. As if the whole of the universe began and ended here, and there was nothing more central. It was a hallowed moment. Undeniably sacred. There was no individual ego, but rather a united circle. The Grand Entry moved in harmony with the spheres of the heavens. An energetic, circular hoop of energy and prayer in the form of tribal dancers. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

4 " Dave had carried the Zen bell, and rang it every few minutes with the tap of a small hammer. The sound was clear and beautiful. The tone was harmonious and rung out as the sun rose over the water. Some thought the sacred arose when a local action mirrored a more universal rhythm—like that morning. The sun rose. The bell rang out. The druids walked a pattern which resembled the sun’s movement. All one event. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

5 " For even in the best times, people did tend to be a little thoughtless. Not realizing how miraculous it all was. Life itself was a marvel that most only treasured now and then. Time was brief. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

6 " That fire lives in every heart. Not only in the brightest. Not limited to the eminent. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

7 " The walk across the street can seem long, like walking across town. Grown-ups with real magic sometimes seem very ordinary.

If you know of anyone who is a really good person, they will probably seem imperfect when you talk to them.

The best drawings are simple. Special things can seem plain. The voyage to the sun is inside you. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Voyage to the Sun: A Children's Version of the Tao te Ching

8 " A lot of bright colors make it so you cannot see tiny patterns and designs. A lot of loud sounds make it so you cannot hear things that are quiet and magical. A lot of spicy foods make it so you cannot enjoy everyday foods like bread, rice, and pasta. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Voyage to the Sun: A Children's Version of the Tao te Ching

9 " They were calm and the doings of the night didn’t necessarily matter anymore. Their vibes were ecstatic notes that would float down the street to whoever heard. Melodies people would feel. Bliss that could be experienced as simple being. Then the sun would rise and the stars would be gone. The moment would fade like it always does. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

10 " The wise child realizes there are limits to organizing everything. Sometimes it is better to stop; just have fun and do as you like. If a person goes too far in organizing everything all of the time, that is when common sense fails; that is when real trouble happens. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Voyage to the Sun: A Children's Version of the Tao te Ching

11 " I won't give in to despair while stars are beautiful in the night sky and know we cannot leave here while it is always midnight, and there is only that hope that we grasped and pulled down from these skies. Here where it is midnight we cling to the play of children lining up little tiny drops of joy, small shimmers we hap to wish upon for two blooms in spring, three sparrows to sing to me, and four kisses in the sudden flash of summer. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , The Bones of the Poor

12 " They had freedom as before, but without their vast riches. These previously privileged had what everyone else did, and were not given compensation, like some had predicted. In an instant, they had been turned into regular human beings. In one loud terrifying moment, people became equal within the law and as recipient of benefits. Before then, the entire revolution had seemed impossible. Although it was amazingly bloodless, these changes were welcomed by most and only resisted by a minute number who still could not see the benefit. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

13 " To the rain over northern England, the coal under its top soil, and our ancestors who chanted to the winds. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Zin

14 " I lay on the grasses in rolling fog,
In yellow hayrattle and fairy flax,
By the dusky moorland and blanket bog;

The snipe chirps out her plaintive monologue,
A skylark warbles while diving her tracks,
I lay on the grasses in rolling fog;

Sky continues his subtle dialogue,
The sun recites hymns to the zodiacs,
By the dusky moorland and blanket bog;

The peaceful clouds roll by in epilogue
Casting shadows of forgotten syntax,
I lay on the grasses in rolling fog;

The meadow hums in ancient analog,
Oxeye daisies keep their secretive pacts
By the dusky moorland and blanket bog;

I need no other church or synagogue
Within my particular parallax,
I lay on the grasses in rolling fog
By the dusky moorland and blanket bog. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , The Bones of the Poor

15 " I hear the soldier’s footsteps right outside
From Roman legions that are hunting me—
A mother, warrior, Boudica, queen.
That swarm of angry hornets aims to sting
My skin with fire, piercing me with pain.
I will never accept an end like that.
Now happily spared the brutality
Since you opened up the door to hide me,
Anam Cara, you prove to be a friend,
To help in my hour of direst need
Just as we had previously agreed. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , The Bones of the Poor

16 " Listen close—my previous life was good.
My mind has many pleasant memories:
Camping on the Wensome’s chalk river shores,
Running in green fields, picking spring flowers,
Exploring the sand dunes and pine forests,
A picnic on the mud flats, carefree days
At home with my family in the village,
Watching the terns, sedge warblers and swallows,
Lessons in cooking and animal care,
Untamed rivers and lakes, games with my friends,
Sandy beaches, marshes, fens, and reed beds,
The barn owl who liked to sing every night,
Stirring conversations with my husband,
Mundane chores alongside both my daughters,
Magical countryside, large gray stone blocks,
Tall flint walls in a nearby Roman town,
Spongy saltmarsh, woodlands, and butterflies.
It was all a gift, all blessed—and now
I feel an unexpected clarity. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , The Bones of the Poor

17 " Some sudden light illuminates my mind.
Serene as tufted clouds in summer skies
Slowly floating through the expanse of air.
Calm like the lark who watches from her perch.
Weightless like a small dandelion seed.
Freedom. I can float away with the breeze.
I feel attuned to the sun and the sky,
To the yellow oxlip, rosettes of leaves,
Clusters of spring flowers under the trees.
I feel a presence and sense life rising,
Spirit in all things, living soul, divine
Shimmer of being within, so sublime. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , The Bones of the Poor

18 " Very soon, I will be travelling there
With the great heron out to the North Sea
To dance with the deep, where I will just be;
Roaming the headwaters and tidal flats
Liminal as light upon the surface,
In waves that crash on rounded marshy coasts.
Think of me as the sun rises each dawn
When you feel that surge of an inner strength
With each ephemeral moment of time.
I know I will be there eternally,
Immersed, one with the great estuary. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , The Bones of the Poor

19 " A good bus rider likes to take the bus, looking out the window, talking to others on the way. The trip on the bus is fun; it is not just about getting there. A good painter tries to think about what she is feeling inside her imagination, her thoughts. It is not just about painting what something looks like. A good science student likes thinking about ideas, tries to find out how things work. It is not just about learning one tiny piece of the universe. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , Voyage to the Sun: A Children's Version of the Tao te Ching

20 " Undulating rivulets emerged when
Paleocene glacial ice had formed
Fluvial rifts worn in naked chalk hills,
Currents flowed over burnished boulders
Moving past numinous burial mounds. "

― Ruth Ann Oskolkoff , The Bones of the Poor