The Spider and the Fly

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A Malaysian homeless child eats food on a street in Kuala Lumpur: photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP, 15 April 2016

I

Living is no laughing matter:
 ...you must live with great seriousness
  ......like a squirrel, for example --
   I mean without looking for something beyond and above living,
  ......I mean living must be your whole occupation. 

Living is no laughing matter:
 .....you must take it seriously,
 .....so much so and to such a degree
   that, for example, your hands tied behind your back,
                                            your back to the wall,
 or else in a laboratory
 .....in your white coat and safety glasses,
 .....you can die for people --
   even for people whose faces you’ve never seen,
   even though you know living
 .....is the most real, the most beautiful thing.

I mean, you must take living so seriously
   that even at seventy, for example, you’ll plant olive trees --
   and not for your children, either,
   but because although you fear death you don’t believe it,
   because living, I mean, weighs heavier.

III

This earth will grow cold,
a star among stars
               and one of the smallest,
a gilded mote on blue velvet --
   I mean this, our great earth.
This earth will grow cold one day,
not like a block of ice
or a dead cloud even 
but like an empty walnut it will roll along
   in pitch-black space . . . 
You must grieve for this right now
-- you have to feel this sorrow now --
for the world must be loved this much
                               if you’re going to say “I lived”. . .

Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963): from Living (February 1948), translated by Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konuk, 1993

The spider part of The Spider and the Fly nebulae, IC 417 in star formation, as seen in this infrared image. Located in the constellation Auriga, IC 417 lies about 10,000 light-years away. It is in the outer part of the Milky Way, almost exactly in the opposite direction from the galactic centre.: photo by NASA/AFP, 15 April 2016

The spider part of The Spider and the Fly nebulae, IC 417 in star formation, as seen in this infrared image. Located in the constellation Auriga, IC 417 lies about 10,000 light-years away. It is in the outer part of the Milky Way, almost exactly in the opposite direction from the galactic centre.: photo by NASA/AFP, 15 April 2016

Precarious truce starts in Yemen, fighting reported in Taiz: image via Reuters Top News @Reuters, 11 April 2016

Young Yemeni fighters loyal to exiled President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi stand next to a burnt tank in the Sirwah area, in Marib province. Loyalist forces clashed with Houthi fighters in Marib province for a second consecutive day, according to military sources: photo by Nabil Hassan / AFP, 10 April 2016

GREECE - A child stands inside the Moria detention centre in Mytilene. By @ArisMessinis  #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

GREECE - Migrants protest in Moria detention centre in Mytilene on the eve of Pope Francis' visit. By @ArisMessinis: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

GREECE - A man walks with his son in the Moria detention centre in Mytilene.  By @ArisMessinis: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016
 


SYRIA - Syrians pass anti-election graffiti on a dust bin in the rebel-held city of Douma. By Amer Almohibany #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

US - A commuter walks through the shadows in Midtown Manhattan in New York. By Timothy A. Clary #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

#Syria Young Syrians present their ID cards as they arrive to vote in a parliamentary election #Aleppo #Syria #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 13 April 2016

GREECE - A man throws tear gas shell back to police as refugees try to break down border, Idomeni. By @bubulator2 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

GREECE - A man runs away from tear gas fired during a protest to reopen the border near Idomeni. By @bubulator2 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

GREECE - A man looks at Macedonia police through a fence at Greek-Macedonian border in Idomeni.  By @bubulator2 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

MACEDONIA - Macedonian police deploy their forces at Greek-Macedonian border near Gevgelija.  By @RAtanasovski bubulator2 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

SYRIA - Stray cats eat raw meat thrown by a butcher in the old part of the capital Damascus. By @JOSEPHEID1 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

SYRIA - A Syrian man sits at the entrance of his shop in the old part of the capital Damascus. By @JOSEPHEID1 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016
 

SYRIA - A Syrian man walks along a street in the old part of the capital Damascus. By @JOSEPHEID1 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

GREECE - Refugees keep warm as they sit near a fire in the makeshift camp near Idomeni. By @bubulator2 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

SYRIA - The destroyed minaret of the al-Iman mosque, which was hit by air strikes, in al-Nashabiyah. By @AbdDoumany: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 April 2016

INDONESIA - A trader sells packets of tissues along a street in Jakarta. By @gohphoto #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 April 2016

GREECE - A refugee woman cooks at the makeshift camp at Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni.  By @bubulator2 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 April 2016

GREECE - Refugee children watch cartoon at makeshift camp on Greek-Macedonian border near Idomeni..  By @bubulator2 #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 15 April 2016

Nepalese devotees hold sacrificial chickens as they wait in a queue to enter the ‘Balkumari’ temple during Sindoor Jatra festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal: photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP, 14 April 2016 



Nepalese devotees hold sacrificial chickens as they wait in a queue to enter the ‘Balkumari’ temple during Sindoor Jatra festival in Bhaktapur, Nepal: photo by Niranjan Shrestha/AP, 14 April 2016

MALAYSIA - A woman sits inside a bus during sunset in Kuala Lumpur. By @rasfan #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

 

Ethnic Malaysian Sikhs perform prayers to celebrate the Vaisakhi Festival, or the Sikh New Year Festival, at Gurdwara Sahib temple in Kuala Lumpur: photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP, 15 April 2016

 

Ethnic Malaysian Sikhs perform prayers to celebrate the Vaisakhi Festival, or the Sikh New Year Festival, at Gurdwara Sahib temple in Kuala Lumpur: photo by Mohd Rasfan/AFP, 15 April 2016

An Indian ascetic Muslim puts sharp object into his eye during the Urs festival in Ajme. By Shaukat Ahmed #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department@AFP, 14 April 2016

INDIA - A child sleeps as his father sells household items at a roadside stall in Siliguri. By @DIPTENDUTTA: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 14 April 2016

INDIA - An Hindu devotee is suspended by metal hooks takes part in 'Chadak' worship in Siliguri. By. By @DIPTENDUTTA: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 13 April 2016

Palestinian man reads a local newspaper outside his home in Gaza City: photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP, 14 April 2016

Palestinian man reads a local newspaper outside his home in Gaza City: photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP, 14 April 2016

GAZA CITY - A Palestinian man reads a local newspaper outside his home. By @m55baba #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 14 April 2016

Yemenis stand on a car at a flooded street following heavy rain, in Sana’a. Torrential rain hit Sanaa and most parts of Yemen as summer temperatures soar: photo by Yahya Arhab/EPA, 13 April 2016

Yemenis stand on a car at a flooded street following heavy rain, in Sana’a. Torrential rain hit Sanaa and most parts of Yemen as summer temperatures soar: photo by Yahya Arhab/EPA, 13 April 2016

 

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures after speaking to the media after his marathon call-in TV show in Moscow, Russia: photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP, 14 April 2016

 

Russian President Vladimir Putin gestures after speaking to the media after his marathon call-in TV show in Moscow, Russia: photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP, 14 April 2016

 

An Indian man dressed as Hindu Goddess Kali puts fire in his mouth during a procession to celebrate the Ram Navami festival in Allahabad, India: photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP 15 April 2016



An Indian man dressed as Hindu Goddess Kali puts fire in his mouth during a procession to celebrate the Ram Navami festival in Allahabad, India: photo by Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP 15 April 2016

A Secret Service Agent stands guard as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the Corsi senior center, in New York: photo by Mary Altaffer/AP, 15 April 2016



A Secret Service Agent stands guard as Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton speaks at the Corsi senior center, in New York: photo by Mary Altaffer/AP, 15 April 2016


INDIA - An artist dressed as goddess Kali participates at Ram Navami festival in Allahabad. By @sanjaykanojia07 #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

The Palmyra citadel is seen in the background as Syrian families load their belongings onto a bus in the town of Palmyra in the central Homs province, Syria. Thousands of residents of this ancient town who fled Islamic State rule are returning briefly to check on their homes and salvage what they can some carpets, blankets, a fridge or a few family mementos: photo by Hassan Ammar/AP, 15 April 2016



The Palmyra citadel is seen in the background as Syrian families load their belongings onto a bus in the town of Palmyra in the central Homs province, Syria. Thousands of residents of this ancient town who fled Islamic State rule are returning briefly to check on their homes and salvage what they can some carpets, blankets, a fridge or a few family mementos: photo by Hassan Ammar/AP, 15 April 2016

Children play as residents look from their window at the container settlement shelter for refugees and migrants in Zehlendorf district in Berlin, Germany. Locals, many of them retirees, come to the shelter regularly to help the refugees and migrants.: photo by Hassan Ammar/AP, 15 April 2016



Children play as residents look from their window at the container settlement shelter for refugees and migrants in Zehlendorf district in Berlin, Germany. Locals, many of them retirees, come to the shelter regularly to help the refugees and migrants.: photo by Hassan Ammar/AP, 15 April 2016

Young girls yet to attain puberty are dressed up as living goddesses before being worshipped as ‘kumari’ or virgin during the Bengali Hindu festival of Basanti Durga puja in Kolkata, India: photo by Bikas Das/AP, 15 April 2016



Young girls yet to attain puberty are dressed up as living goddesses before being worshipped as ‘kumari’ or virgin during the Bengali Hindu festival of Basanti Durga puja in Kolkata, India: photo by Bikas Das/AP, 15 April 2016

A Hindu girl dressed as a Kumari sits as she is worshipped during rituals to commemorate Navratri festival inside Adyapith temple on the outskirts of Kolkata, India: photo by Rupak De Chowdhuri/Reuters, 15 April 2016

Migrants protest demanding reopening of border crossing near their makeshift camp in Idomeni. By @Kilicbil #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 11 April 2016

Prime Minister David Cameron helps to campaign for a ‘Remain’ vote in the forthcoming EU referendum at a phone centre in London today along with fellow pro EU campaigners, Lord Ashdown, Lord Kinnock and Tessa Jowell: photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA,14 April 2016 



Prime Minister David Cameron helps to campaign for a ‘Remain’ vote in the forthcoming EU referendum at a phone centre in London today along with fellow pro EU campaigners, Lord Ashdown, Lord Kinnock and Tessa Jowell: photo by Stefan Rousseau/PA,14 April 2016

YEMEN - A boy walks in a muddy road following heavy rain fall in the city of Amran. By Mohammed Huwais #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

SYRIA - A man rides his motorbike in Daraa. By  By @AbazidMohamad #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

YEMEN - A man sits on a rock in a flooded street following heavy rain fall in Amran. By Mohammed Huwais #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

Battles around Syria's Aleppo cast shadow over peace talks: image via AFP news agency @AFP, 15 April 2016

GREECE - A migrant looks on as he stands inside Moria detention center in Mytilene. By @ArisMessinis #AFP: image via Frédérique Geffard @fgeffardAFP, 15 April 2016

GREECE - Migrants sit at a makeshift camp staged near the port of Mytilene on island of Lesbos. By @lgouliam #AFP: image via AFP Photo Department @AFPphoto, 15 April 2016



[Untitled] (Skiermuontseach): photo by JelleS, 15 April 2016



[Untitled] (Skiermuontseach): photo by JelleS, 15 April 2016
 

A cradle left behind by Syrian Kurdish refugees lies at the border near Suruc. Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkish troops could be used to help establish a secure zone in Syria, if there was an international agreement to set up such a haven for refugees fleeing Islamic State fighters: photo by Murad Sezer/Reuters, 4 October 2014