Poetry . Public Library . Tales from the Public Library
The Florist Wears Knee Breeches
On April 24, 2016 by Speranza
My flowers are reflected
In your mind
As you are reflected in your glass.
When you look at them,
There is nothing in your mind
Except the reflections
Of my flowers.
But when I look at them
I see only the reflections
In your mind,
And not my flowers.
It is my desire
To bring roses,
And place them before you
In a white dish.
Gardening . Nature . The General
Skunk-A-Rama!
On April 18, 2016 by Speranza
Today I got up especially early, almost dawn, poured myself a cup of steaming coffee and went outside to do some serious gardening; just picking up sticks and clearing away leaves and winter debris, (what my British father used to call “pottering”) but it’s very meditative, mind clearing, solitary work.
And I look forward to doing it.
I’ve never had good luck with Columbine planting although I try each year (I especially love the deep black ones and in this regard, my good friend Jinny is my dealer, since each spring she cheerfully provides me with a few more, judgement-free, from her own pristine garden).
I’m also not the most skilled at remembering exactly where I planted them either but last year I made a special effort to make a Columbine ‘grove’ near my back deck which would be hard to miss.
Cats . Spring . The General . Travel
Time’s Actually Not on my Side
On April 11, 2016 by Speranza
It’s nearly the middle of April and I am desperate, desperate for spring. I pace around the house looking at projects I want to get going on, corners I would like to scrub out with a toothbrush (yes, it’s come to this!) and the Pantry-of-Shame which is overflowing with partially full boxes of crackers, raisins from seven years ago and an unattractive waterfall of plastic bags. Every time I open the door I am ashamed and antsy to tackle it but when the weekend unfurls and time presents itself, I become strangely busy with other things and cannot bear the thought of committing an entire day to those little screws of paper with three pieces of macaroni in each one, gack …
I’m also watching the same pattern of promising myself, really hard, oath-taking promises here to do something (exercise; eat better; clean out the effing pantry) and then I watch myself not following-up.
This is not like me to procrastinate like this (or, is it) and I’ve become extremely frustrated with myself.
Darkness . The General
Stormy Weather
On April 4, 2016 by Speranza
I hate it when people blame the weather for feeling down. If you have ever lived in the UK you quickly realize that if you are not going to go out till it stops raining/blowing/raining you are basically not going out for a very, very long time.
Say, your next birthday.
That said, it’s very disappointing to go away somewhere warm as a smug strategy for hurrying spring along only to find that it’s not only still snowing upon your return but there are gusts of wind that are shaking the house till it moans like an old clipper ship.
I always imagine those antique maps with that chubby cloud dude with the big cheeks in the corner, cupping his hands and blowing as hard as he can; but this is just my own meteorological whimsy to mask the terror within.
I just paid for that roof …
