Exercise #5, Go to
the Bookstore
1.
Freedmen:
Getting ice cream with my husband—cotton candy with pretzels
and caramel.
Having 2 hours with a Lush Yoga bath bomb and a bottle of
Prosecco in a whirlpool.
Talking to my mom and saying “bye,” “bye” “bye,” “no you
hang up” 20 times while I listen to her laugh. God I love her giggles.
Playing Settlers of Catan until 2am by a campfire with rum
spiked apple cider and a sky blue sleeping bag lined with red flannel.
Getting lost, so lost, I don’t know how to open a Parisian
door—must connect to Wi-Fi inside apartment and watch Youtube video about using
keys in Paris. Also, how to use the laundry machine. Bathtub washed clothes with best friend—no
more whites, all pink.
2.
Healing:
Walking amongst pine smells at The Shrine of St. Therese.
Old cement mixed with damp log cabin wood and incense. Humpback whale calls
lifted up with Mary’s prayers.
Packing rain jacket, gators, hiking boots, Cheez-Its,
Gatorade, white propane.
Cell phone left in glove compartment.
Three days of cabin camping.
Star searching, moon gazing.
Planetariums
Anything stars.
Galaxy Themed
Finger nail polish
Backpacks
Leggings
Keds soft shoes
“Name a Star” projects.
Paddle boating under Aurora Borealis.
Bears meeting me on crossed paths—both out hiking together,
eating berries.
3.
Witness:
Eyes turned on Jesse, paramedics rushing to help, my dear
brother at Christmas Eve service. Curled up in fetal position, speakers spiked
from mic, reminds him of Iraq.
Footsteps echoing off cement walls at Yad Vashem, Jerusalem
Holocaust Memorial.
Last name Saltzman staring me in the face.
So many plaques with Rebecca listed in rows with pictures of
black and white skeletons.
Chapters employee having conversation with man dressed in
tattered Keep Calm Sweatshirt. Smiles. Offers him a drink at Starbucks and
slips a $20 in his bag when he reaches for sugar.
4.
Overwhelming:
Writing about violence in French Revolution children’s books
from 1854.
Cities—people, buses, smoke, cell phones buzzing, fashion,
driving like it’s a fight.
Making breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day all day, eat
healthy they say.
Writing 50 pages in 1 week.
Planners filled with red ink.
Trying to pick a new book to read “for fun.”
5.
Walked:
Toe to toe measuring steps before looking down cruise ship
doc for cops.
Four friends jumping in.
Gliding steps waiting for girl in white behind.
Brother in the front. M & M’s melting in pocket waiting
to bribe the ring bearer.
Just like that new sister; ushered in by a kiss and a vow.
Grab mom’s hand, drag, rushed steps to the MET
seeing Misty Copeland in first principal performance, Romeo
and Juliet.
She is first African American principal at American Ballet
Theatre, we watched history.
3am Central Park Gelato.
5am Time Square sketch of us.
6.
Smells:
Alaska Blue Spruce Trees
avocados
olives
Feta
Starbucks Holiday Peppermint Mocha
fresh forest rain
wet clothes
Apply Cinnamon candle
beach seaweed
pomegranate juice
Play Doh
boat exhaust
Salmon guts on hands
spandex and sweat—rubbery dancer smell
Cracking open book, slip behind nearest book case, inhale.
No comments:
Post a Comment