Reanimated Lavender Granola Switchblade Nun rides again.

Friday, January 7, 2011

Life Story



Lightning struck the tree--

Mama blamed me,

But she couldn't find my trialsome ass

Cos one block of blackened wood looks much like the next.

So, I slipped the strike in my pocket

And took up smoking,

Kissed the girl next door--

She was older,

Invited me in,

Shut the door,

And I grew up like a gypsy in her jewelry box--

Hers and a dozen others more.



Years later, another light came out of Heaven,

And I sobered up--

Quit cursing during grace,

Or wearing fishnets on the church steps;

Tried the straight and narrow ways

For a while,

Crocodile.



Now I live in a bower made of books;

I whisk words with the places I've been and haven't been--

I spend my days out on the porch,

And after dark, I'm in.

I kiss my finger when I've cut it on a page-edge;

My dog sticks close to home.

The old strike is still there,

Kept between my writing chair

And the window where I watch the dandelion seeds

And river reeds.

My remaining life lies just beyond,

It might be wise or unwise,

But what it so certainly is,

Is exquisitely,

Deliciously,

My own.

_________

13 comments:

  1. Yes! Yes! Yes! Whatever you do, wherever you go, it is yours!

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  2. Wonderful affirmation, Shay! It does my heart good to see someone embrace life so wholeheartedly - it shows me there's still hope for the world, even if it's just one person at a time.

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  3. Some perfect lines here--just perfect--this one reads like eating Ghiradelli chocolate, dark and sweet and rich. (yeah, I'm dieting, and I admit I may be biased about chocolate being better than money or eternal life, but still...)

    This is my favorite: "Now I live in a bower made of books;/I whisk words with the places I've been and haven't been--" Keep on cooking, woman.

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  4. I love this one so much, most especially the ending - yes, it is your own, and after all the heartbreak, isnt it wonderful to arrive at that place in our lives? Keep on cooking, indeed. Fabulous from-the-heart-of-Shay poem.

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  5. But what it so certainly is,

    Is exquisitely,

    Deliciously,

    My own.


    You couldn't know how much I needed to read this today.

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  6. Dammit girl, this is beautiful :-)

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  7. first to lines say it all.

    "Bower of Books"

    My Kinda Gal, Pal




    Aloha from Hawaii

    Comfort Spiral

    ><}}(°>


    <°)}}><

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  8. Very nice indeed.. another keeper.

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  9. Speechless. Thank you. Intuitively flowing words.

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  10. "Is exquisitely,
    Deliciously,
    My own." -- what more could a soul ask for than to honor the whole of who we are.

    Beautiful, Shay.

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  11. Love that ending - and so true. It's yours for the asking.

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Spirit, what do you wish to tell us?