Why?

Looking at the eagle
soaring oh so high
wings spread wide
in glorious flight
I wonder what he
thinks of us
down below?
He must wonder
why do they bicker
and fight?
Why can they
not find peace?
Why can’t their hearts
take flight
and enjoy
the beautiful land below?

Shanghaied

Shanghaied through time and space
Into a cult-like twilight zone

Awakening to the realization
A small group bans together

The treacherous escape route
Is found
But not everyone is on board
Many are paralyzed with fright

They will have to unite to survive
Work together to configure the escape
Set up a front and run defense

Quickly plot and plan
In a small place

The feeling is that of suffocating
Panic and fear is rife
Behind the mask of normalcy

There is no choice
Their lives and free will are at stake
An attempt has to be made
It has to be fast and furious

Jumping through the rabbit hole of time and space
Send the weak and terrified down first
Push and shove
Keep moving
Faster and faster

There is no stopping
The strongest goes through last
To hide the trail and in case of discovery
And conflict

No one is left behind
Hands are held
They move as one
To freedom and life

No one remembers breathing
Just moving pushing shoving

Sliding back through into reality
Into the real world
Everyone is greeted with cheers and laughter
Their arrival had been eagerly awaited

Hearts and minds are light as air
Lives are restored
The nightmare is over

The Angels…

danced around in the soft, blue moonlight, laughing and singing praises to God.

They blew kisses onto the heads of babies on earth down below that smelled of bubblegum and sweet gardenia flowers.

Hyper Tanned Mom

Every day that it was warm enough and the sun was shinning, after all of her house work was done, she could be found in her back yard soaking up the sun. With the help of baby oil. For hours on end. It was a ritual that I witnessed my entire youth. Back in the old days, the 70’s and 80’s.

Was she the darkest white lady in all the land? Yes, yes she was. She was so dark that until one of my children was quite old they thought she was a black woman. It didn’t help that her last name had the word black in it. I have a photograph of my young child sitting in her lap on a backyard swing. My child was as white as they come with bright white hair. In her lap my child looks like a ghost and she looks like a black woman. We lived in an all white neighborhood. This was a long time ago.

Did we think it was strange? I don’t think so. As a child and a teenager that was the only way I had ever seen her. She never lost enough of her tan in the winter to look white again. And her tan didn’t look bad. It wasn’t uneven or spotty. She was perfectly roasted. As a white un-tanable teenager I was very jealous. Her sister-in-law was almost the same way. They loved the sun and went to the beach for a week or two every summer come hell or highwater.

In spite of terrible family tragedy this woman was one of the happiest and most together women I knew. She ran her house with military precision. She sewed, she baked beautiful birthday cakes for everyone in the neighborhood on their birthdays. Her kids were always dressed nice and well-mannered. They all went to college, got married and had kids. This lady also smoked cigarettes and had two beers every night.

By todays standards this lady would be considered very unhealthy right? Of course she would. She probably looks like an old leather saddle now right? I think so. I haven’t seen her in many years. I have been told that she does indeed look bad and that yes she has had skin cancer. But if none of that happened until she was in her late 70’s then all in all is that really too bad? She has had a long life which she enjoyed to the best of her ability in light of a terrible family tragedy that she had to endure.  If she had to do it all over again I doubt that she would give up any of her pleasures, they are part of what made her who she was. A hyper tanned mom who was not a freak. And yes her children often layed out with her but never tanned as well or as much as she did. They were a close happy family and still are.

Wednesday’s Yarn Along from Small Things Blog

I have not made much progress at all on the dog blanket for the shelter, I am a very slow knitter! I did however finish reading Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss. Below you will find my review.

The novel, Chang and Eng by Darin Strauss was certainly one of the most unusual and interesting books that I have ever read. After all how many times do you read about conjoined Siamese Twins?
Born in 1811 on a poor fisherman’s small thatched houseboat on the Mekong River in Siam Chang and Eng lived a full but unusual life to say the least. It started out full of love and support but then came many troubled times for these most wonderful siblings. They had many adventures from being in freak shows in the circus to being married men with their own families.
Their father unknowingly gave them one of the best blessings of their lives when he taught them Gung-Fu at a very young age. This form of mental and physical exercise would prove to be invaluable to them throughout their lifetime as would an old saying he also taught them…Mekong fishermen stay abreast of change. River men’s judgment helps one to make the appropriate decisions at the appropriate moment and diminish the influence of fate.
Chang and Eng had two distinct personalities which often times made living attached to each other quite a struggle. They learned from their most loving mother that fighting with each other was fruitless so therefore they had no choice but to learn to get along well together. Their love and support of one another was very touching and sweet.
Reading about their marriage and family life as adults was most interesting. Their marriage to two southern sisters was especially unusual considering the time period. I will say that I would have come up with a slightly different arrangement than the one they used for their marriage bed.
I thought it very odd that they owned slaves considering what they had been through in life. The brothers were hard workers in spite of their handicap but they did need help in running the small farm where they lived during their marriage. I would think however that hired help would have been a more gentle answer to the situation.
Although there were many moments of happiness in this story it has more than its share of sadness. I did not cry until the very end and I can’t imagine anyone not getting at least the slightest bit teary eyed. The story of Chang and Eng had perhaps the most emotionally touching ending that I have ever read.
I put off reading this book for a long time thinking it would be far too sad to read. Now I am glad that I read it. By using the first person point of view in telling Chang and Eng’s story, Darin Strauss captured their true essence so very well. It feels as though I have personally met them and have been familiar friends with them for a long time. It would have been a most interesting and wonderful friendship.

Little Bug

Run little bug, run.
You are out in the sun now.
Hide near a flower.

A Haiku

Sorrow abounds there.
Caused by furious water.
Lives torn asunder forever.

A Good Man

At 18
He was,
Young and energetic,
Eager to start a new life,
Bright and diligent.

At 50
He had,
Aged well,
Traveled the world,
Endured pain and suffering.

At 75
He is,
Wise and generous,
Rich with experience,
And enjoying a good life.

In response to Mama Kat’s Writer’s Workshop

Little Man in the Grocery Store

Candy
Cookies
Crackers
Grammie at the grocery store sure is handy!