Marie Howe's "Hurry"

Hurry

We stop at the dry cleaners and the grocery store
and the gas station and the green market and
Hurry up honey, I say, hurry hurry,
as she runs along two or three steps behind me
her blue jacket unzipped and her socks rolled down.

Where do I want her to hurry to? To her grave?
To mine? Where one day she might stand all grown?

Today, when all the errands are finally done, I say to her,
Honey I'm sorry I keep saying Hurry--
you walk ahead of me. You be the mother.

And Hurry up, she says, over her shoulder, looking
back at me, laughing. Hurry up now darling, she says,
hurry, hurry, taking the house keys from my hands.

--Marie Howe

Poetry Time!

The Wren from Carolina

Just now the wren from Carolina buzzed
through the neighbor's hedge
a line of grace notes I couldn't even write down
much less sing.

Now he lifts his chestnut colored throat
and delivers such a cantering praise---
for what?
For the early morning, the taste of the spider,

for his small cup of life
that he drinks from every day, knowing it will refill.
All things are inventions of holiness,
Some more rascally than others.

I'm on that list too,
though I don't know exactly where.
But every morning, there's my own cup of gladness,
and there's the wren in the hedge, above me, with his

blazing song.


---Mary Oliver

poem by e.e. cummings

may my heart always be open to little
birds who are the secrets of living
whatever they sing is better than to know
and if men should not hear them men are old
   
may my mind stroll about hungry
and fearless and thirsty and supple
and even if it's sunday may i be wrong
for whenever men are right they are not young
   
and may myself do nothing usefully
and love yourself so more than truly
there's never been quite such a fool who could fail
pulling all the sky over him with one smile

--e.e. cummings

Today's Poem: "So Much Happiness"

So Much Happiness

It is difficult to know what to do with so much happiness.
With sadness there is something to rub against,
a wound to tend with lotion and cloth.
When the world falls in around you, you have pieces to pick up,
something to hold in your hands, like ticket stubs or change.

But happiness floats.
It doesn't need you to hold it down.
It doesn't need anything.
Happiness lands on the roof of the next house, singing,
and disappears when it wants to.
You are happy either way.
Even the fact that you once lived in a peaceful tree house
and now live over a quarry of dust and noise
cannot make you unhappy.
Everything has a life of its own,
it too could wake up filled with possibilities
of coffee cake and ripe peaches,
and love even the floor which needs to be swept,
the soiled linens and scratched records...

Since there is no place large enough
to contain so much happiness,
you shrug, you raise your hands, and it flows out of you
into everything you touch. You are not responsible.
You take no credit, as the night sky takes no credit
for the moon, but continues to hold it, and share it,
and in that way, be known.

--Naomi Shihab Nye

In Honor of National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month (!) and I am going to try to post one poem each day in honor of it. That way I can share more of my favorites with you, and it will spur me to discover poetry as yet untasted. Maybe I will even share one of my own. :)

Here is today's offering:

This Is Just to Say

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast.

Forgive me
they were
delicious
so sweet
and so cold.


--William Carlos Williams

A Full Weekend

This weekend has been full and fabulous. :)

Saturday I met my friend Eileen for a pedicure at the southeast Dosha location on Hawthorne Boulevard. We got to catch up as our feet were soaked, then massaged, our callouses were scrubbed at least a little smoother, and nail polish was applied to our newly trimmed toenails (coincidentally, we chose the same color, a shimmery shade of apricot--oh la la).

Then it was off to find a place for lunch. Luckily we didn't have far to go to find a great little place. Eileen's sister lives in the area and had recommended a French creperie called "Chez Machin." I was pleased to see that they use fresh, local ingredients, cage-free eggs and also that they offer a gluten-free version of their crepes. It reminded me why I love the east side of Portland so much!

I chose their special savory crepe of the day: chevre (goat cheese), spinach, kalamata olives, and garlic with creme fraiche drizzled over the top and a fried egg on top of that. It was oh-so-good. Vraiment tres bon!

They also offer crepes "sucres" for dessert and while Eileen and I decided to pass, I took a menu home with visions of future lazy Sunday trips to the southeast side dancing in my head. I must take Michael there to help prepare him for our someday trip to France. :)

When I got home, our friend John was there, working with Michael in the garage. John and his wife, Amy, invited us over for dinner and we had a good time catching up with them and enjoying the very tasty lentil soup and garlic bread that Amy had made.

I started out this morning thinking I would spend the day cleaning and would make tacos for dinner. Then I thought of inviting my parents over to have dinner with us, since it had been far too long since we'd seen them. I really wasn't expecting them to say yes, since my mom works on Sundays and she always goes to bed fairly early in the evenings when she has to work the next day. But no, she said they would love to come and what could they bring?

We ended up as 4 cooks in the kitchen with my dad cooking the ground turkey, my mom chopping lettuce, avocado and olives, Michael pouring us wine and me running around finding dishes to put things in, the oil for Dad, spices for the turkey, etc. It was a little hectic but also kind of cozy and nice.

Finally we all sat down and stuffed ourselves full of tacos with black beans, salsa, cilantro, onion, pickle (yes, pickle), olives, lettuce, avocado and cheese. There was more wine for all and beer too for Mom and Dad.

Afterward, we had dessert of a lemon pudding cake which Michael selected from Fred Meyer, topped with a scoop of coconut milk ice cream (my choice). It was all really, really good.

All too soon it was time for them to go, but before they left for home, my mom and I modeled the new scarf (her) and new hat (me) that my sister, Christi, made for us. She is quite the talented knitter, that one. :)

Even though it wasn't long enough together, it was fun to see my mom and dad and fill them in on the details of our lives since we'd last seen them. I'm looking forward to doing it again soon!

Michael's New Adventure

Yesterday we drove to Seaside to pick up Michael's "project" car. He's been wanting one for quite some time now, and all that dutiful surfing of the Internet finally paid off last week when he saw a car he really wanted at a price that wouldn't break the bank.

It's a 1972 Datsun 510 that Michael says will look amazing once she is fixed up. He's got big plans for this car, and I'm glad because it will a) keep Michael from getting bored and from playing too many hours of video games and b) it will get this car the love that she needs. The car is older than both of us and looks it--but I think under Michael's tender care, she will blossom into the little racecar of her master's dreams.

We rented a car dolly from U-haul and I'm happy to report that we had no trouble with either the equipment or the company; we weren't so lucky when we moved into our house 6 years ago and U-haul charged us for about 50 extra miles than we actually drove. It was a big headache getting that one straightened out and we didn't get our money back until after I wrote a letter to the Better Business Bureau. Thankfully, everything went smoothly yesterday and we arrived in Seaside 2 1/2 hours before the agreed-upon time of 1pm.

Michael and I splurged and had lunch at the local Dairy Queen, then watched the seagulls and the waves on the beach until it was time to pick up the Datsun. The only unfortunate part of the day was the gray drizzle that kept Michael and the car's previous owner company as they inspected the car and got it loaded onto our dolly. We also got various extra parts for the car, including 2 doors that fit nicely in the truck bed.

Our '98 Toyota did just fine pulling the car and dolly over the coastal range, and we had no trouble keeping it at 55mph. There was still some snow up there at the highest part of the range . . . believe me I was glad we were getting this car now and not 1 or 2 months ago. It could have made for a treacherous trip home.

The little Datsun spent her first night outside next to our Honda, but Michael has been diligently clearing space in the garage so that she will soon be under cover.

I'm excited for him and the plans he has for the car. We'll keep you posted on the process of her ongoing makeover.