Three things from DAH. The There There: Where the heart is.

DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. 
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First up this week: Hole … 
Dig, dig, dig. Is that what a hole's really about? I think of a hole as the empty space after material has been removed. A hole is the hollow place, right? At least generally. I've been reading and thinking about emptiness and silence, both of which I somewhat aspire to. Yes, I know that were I entirely empty and silent I might be less interesting to myself and others. But both emptiness and silence leave space for something new or different. Room for others to squeeze in. Room for discoveries. I just need to make that hole large enough, without making it so large that it requires much management (because I'm not looking for a new project).

Second up this week, Holy …
"Middle English holy, hooly, haly, from Old English hālig … Old English hāl (whole)" (Merriam-Webster). And then there's that hole, right? Holes are often begging to be filled. Had I a difficult hole, I'd be looking to get it filled, for me to be made whole. Were the hole worrisome or painful, holiness (of whatever ilk) might help. I must be clear, however, that I'm not proposing an organized religious hole-filling. That might be just the ticket, but being made whole could take many forms. I'm rather enamored of the notion that "being made whole" equates to some sort of holiness. However that wholeness is achieved. 

Third up this week, Hiraeth …
Sounds foreign, which is generally foreign to TheThereThere. But exceptions to common practice must be made. Otherwise we'd never get anywhere. Thank you, Anet, for suggesting this perfect (for DAH) word months ago. Rough pronunciation: "hear-eth". A Welsh word with no direct English translation. Wales is popularly recognized as "the land of song." The notion of hiraeth fits that (consider the eisteddfod). It's a mixture of sad homesickness, longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness … sounds like a soul-hole to me. And, of course, it was the Welsh who named the concept. Absolutely in keeping with finding the there there. Hole, holy, and home. 
 
A book to read attentively and with pleasure.
Companion Piece, by Ali Smith
My friend Susana recommended this novel. I thought, "Sounds interesting, and I trust Susana's taste." Then I devoured the book in a single sitting. Lots of current (mostly pandemic lockdown) thinking, and plenty of wordplay (it begins with curlew and curfew). "Shakespearean echoes sound through the book. Fables enrich it; fables about fathers and daughters, about interchangeable siblings, about magic beasts and sexual indeterminacy … There is a whole chapter on the origins and varying significances of the word "hello", a banal little greeting that seems to say that aliens don’t have to be enemies." (Lucy Hughes-Hallett, review in The Guardian 30 Mar 2022). As Smith writes, "A story is never an answer. A story is always a question."

And a bit more (and you're forgiven if you find yourself humming Hubert Parry's musical setting under your breath): 

"Jerusalem"
by William Blake
(from "Milton a Poem")

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon Englands mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen!

And did the Countenance Divine,
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here,
Among these dark Satanic Mills?

Bring me my Bow of burning gold:
Bring me my arrows of desire:
Bring me my Spear: O clouds unfold!
Bring me my Chariot of fire!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In Englands green & pleasant Land.


And that's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's "Sometimes"