Standard

Posted by

Posted on

January 12, 2017

Posted under

Photography, Poetry

Comments

62 Comments

Restless

img_5542

Restless in winter, inside,
because of ice, afraid to fall.
I imagine myself skating,

pirouettes, dancing turns,
arabesques, supple,
like the cattails, bending,

undaunted by icy feet.
But instead I bring tea
to my green armchair

and imagine it’s a
treehouse in Peru,
with monkeys chattering

and Paddington Bear clapping
as I imagine myself a child,
unafraid to fall, skating.

Copyright 2017 Brenda Davis Harsham

Notes: Inspired once again by Mary Oliver, to give voice to the inner me.

An excerpt from Whelks, p. 38 of The Truro Bear and Other Adventures, Beacon Press, Copyright 2008, by Mary Oliver:

All my life
I have been restless —
I have felt there is something
more wonderful than gloss —
than wholeness —
than staying at home.
I have not been sure what it is.

Happy Poetry Friday and thanks to Keri at Keri Recommends for hosting. Feel free to join the weekly poetry party.

Have magical adventures, even if they are strictly imagination only!

62 thoughts on “Restless”

  1. Pingback: Restless | SEO

  13. I’m so glad we have our imaginations to comfort us when the outside world is too cold, too much, or in my case much of the year too HOT! 🙂 I am also confident that I’m much more graceful in my imagination than in real life.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  19. Oh, you make me remember when I was eight and I would “practice” skating jumps in the hallway of my grandparents house as the adults talked on and on and on. And, there was a green armchair there too. ha! Beautiful imagery and flight of fancy. I want to join you in that clubhouse to read some of Mary Oliver’s words. I gave myself the gift of her latest book for Christmas….and I haven’t opened it yet. Have a great week!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Linda, for Christmas, I took out three volumes of poetry from the library. Two Mary Oliver and one Herman Melville. I want to do that once a month. What a treat it would be. 🙂 I hope you enjoy her words, when you have time to read it. Happy Friday!

      Like

      Reply

  22. You’ve made me wonder if I still would get on that creek, Brenda. A long time ago My husband & I lived on a lake, where we skated with those big kites that pulled us along. Yes, we fell a lot. Today would I do it. I was a good skater, but. . . The armchair is nice and cozy. I llove examining POVs and this is a good one!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Wow, kite-skating. You wild and crazy person! I’ve never even heard of that. I’m glad you like my shifting POV. I’m always doing that, trying to focus my POV and finding myself straight back where I started. 😉

      Like

      Reply

  24. In Sapporo, Japan, they don’t bother salting or shoveling the sidewalka, so they become slippery death-traps all winter long. As I staggered along, terrified, I watched as children gleefully and fearlessly ran, slid, skated and fell on their way to school. They simply brushed the snow of their (undoubtedly sore) bottoms and carried on, as their mates teased them! Oh, to be young, foolish and free again! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  28. When we fall as children, we get back up. We also heal more quickly and don’t have any responsibilities. Sadly, those things make a difference. Love the poem and love the cozy chair and tea. Sigh. There’s always something more, don’t you think?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a reply to Bridget Magee Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.