100 Words – Beauty, Meaning and Change
2011
A half-lazy Sunday on the homestead divided between laundry and grocery shopping and cooking up an acceptable beef stir-fry without a recipe. All poked through with the deliciously lazy moments — lolling by the slowly simmering fire reading about what’s going on in Wisconsin and the Koch brothers, folding warm towels against my chest, eating Trader Joe’s frozen Canolis with my daughter as she kavetches about the state of the refrigerator in a mock NY/Jewish accent. As usual she sends me into a fit of stomach busting laughter. It’s so very un PC, but it’s a moment that doesn’t need to be correct, only enjoyed. This is the beauty of being a mother.
And I am reminded of different kinds of beauty as I settle in to reading your submissions and come upon this:
Development
In search of meaning,
we travel our lives
contemplating the shifting images
of our mirrored selves–
choosing which survives.
And development
is an obsession–
teleological and somewhat vague–
as we choose between
the past and present
with aim for the future standard set by
the anonymous
unanimous. Yet!–
That changes every
tent to twenty years.
So, your mother has taught you to be who
your grandmother was
50 yrs ago.
But–since December
was a great version
of you, you go back forward in five months.
And you’re at August
in May, withering
on the gate of change.
______________________________________________________________________
One of the greats of my childhood.
I pull an old favorite off the shelf, Essays of E.B. White, and my finger lands on:
FRIGHTENED
From Afternoon of an American Boy – “And as my reply comes weakly, “Yes, sir,” I hear the murmur run through the committee room and see reporters bending over their notebooks, scribbling hard. In my dream, I am again seated with Eileen at the edge of the dance floor, frightened, stunned, and happy–in my ears the intoxicating drumbeat of the dance, in my throat the dry, bittersweet taste of cinnamon.”
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oooh! great choice on the featured post. loved that piece.
stef recently posted..fragments of an unsent letter
Love the choice for last week’s featured entry.
Evenstarwen recently posted..Happy 6th anniversary!
I especially enjoy the last line.
Wow! That is an amazing piece, and so timely for my frame of mind right now.
I must say, VV you are on the ball this week. I barely got mine in and haven’t even ready anything yet!
TinfoilMagnolia recently posted..Obsessed
I know, I surprised myself! It’s pretty simple actually, I had time to myself last night.
Wow! I wasn’t expecting this! Thanks for the pick.
You’re welcome.
love this piece! Such great word juxtoposition and imagery.
And, love the interaction with your daughter. Those are the best times – I love having them with all of my girls (daughters and grands)
Barbara recently posted..Obsession – a true story
No grand-babies yet, and I hope there not to be for another 7-10 years. That said, I can’t wait to shift roles and responsibilities.
I thought, for sure, that I had commented earlier—I’m too young to be so forgetful. But here I am now thanking you for the pick!
And I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.
Ok, disregard my last comment. Wow–I think I should regroup.
Nicollette recently posted..Reflections
Lol, it’s not you. Your original comment was waiting for approval–the standard default for someone relatively new to commenting here. Based on the timing of these most recent comments it looks like I was approving your comment as you were writing these. So no, you’re not crazy.
Good news, right?
Lol, very good news! I would have eventually blamed it on my computer or some other technical issue.
Nicollette recently posted..Reflections
Ok vel, btw when do I get to learn your real name? Anyway, I guarentee I didn’t write about the same subject as Purple Moose Lady or Tara. Mine’s a true story and my youngest daughter will back me up.
Plus, there’s a good Shawn Mullins song.
Werd, I mean word
Lance recently posted..Shimmer- In Front Of The Curtain
Wachoo talkin about? My real name is Velvet.
I’ll have to check out the Shawn Mullins.
remember the UNSEEMLY challenge awhile back – November? I entered it (and a few other pieces) into a local writers contest. Was notifed today that it was picked to be read at the Writers Present March 12th. Thanks for the challenge, and opportunity to write for it, VV.
http://purplemoose.kenaiwriter.net/2010/11/28/unseemly-questions/
Barbara recently posted..US Senator
Barbara, that’s awesome! Glad the challenge helped in some way. I’m going to post this on the FB page.
Velvet Verbosity recently posted..100 Words – Beauty- Meaning and Change
Rock on!
Fran recently posted..Final round