nothing
keeps her from her task now
against all odds, she’s here
and unfolded from the car
we've walked and admired
clinging
smiling
I ask for 20 minutes alone and
after a long look into my eyes
she goes off happily
wending toward
a clump of pine where I know a
wooden
table
waits to receive her sketch pad
and water bottle—I can’t quite
see her from my perch in full sun
where I open my journal, where
I do
not hide
if she looks I want to be found
in this calm state and that’s when
my phone rings and friendly robins
scatter with the mood
but I
answer
a friend from another world sensed
this available moment and so
I drop annoyance for an
undisturbed visit about reading and
lengthy
moments
mom sketching and I visiting both
happily I write—and 20 minutes
stretch to forty before we finish
our tasks—Oh!—time now to grab
potluck
pick up
Sarah to hear speakers on Alternative
to Violence Programs that work in
Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras
(this poem took twenty minutes
to Violence Programs that work in
Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras
(this poem took twenty minutes
to write
alone)
Copyright © 2014 S.L.Chast
i am glad she has you...and that she is active and thing keeps her from getting things done...we need our alone time as well though...and i am glad you have that friend that energizes you as well...we need to fill our cup so that we can then give it out....sounds like a full day to me...
ReplyDeleteMany great things can be written and drawn in twenty minutes..makes me feel that journalling is far from a solitary process..it's about connecting with and to the world..
ReplyDeleteIt is nice, I think, when one has a friend with whom one can have comfortable alone time. I especially like the line, "if she looks I want to be found." And the friendly robins a nice part of the atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteI like the scene you painted, Susan, with your mother sketching and you on the phone and writing poetry. I always enjoy seeing how beauty can emerge from little daily sketches (pun intended).
ReplyDeletelove this sketch of creative moments in art form and words...
ReplyDeleteSo wonderful to have people who understand the need for space and don't take umbrage.
ReplyDeleteAnd then the words flow so easily. As here today.
That is the reason I never carry a mobile.
Another reason is that I don't have one :-)
Sounds and feels like living in every and each second. Free flow of senses, emotions, feelings...and written in very close manner with Brian...Love it very much, intense story!
ReplyDeleteTwenty minutes of joy... writing is such a fine thing!! :) Such a beautiful poem Susan!!
ReplyDeleteTwenty minutes..if we can spend that much time engaging ourselves with the joy of creativity...it becomes eternal..Nicely done...loved the story... :-)
ReplyDeleteI love the exploration of alone in this.
ReplyDeleteYou make good use of your time. It's nice when we condense so much into minutes that could seem eternal. I enjoyed reading this so much.
ReplyDeleteHow cool a response this is to the prompt! I love it! I can see your mom, sketching happily, you writing.........it works for the P Jam theme Alone too..........well done, Susan! Loved it.
ReplyDeleteHow cool a response this is to the prompt! I love it! I can see your mom, sketching happily, you writing.........it works for the P Jam theme Alone too..........well done, Susan! Loved it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great sense here of the scene and of the sense of what can happen in that alone kind of space--like this a bunch
ReplyDeleteThat's a very beautiful twenty minute poem susan..smiles..the moments you have created here is exquisite:)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful lines...and beautiful imagery, Susan. I like the way you built up the scene and how exquisitely the characters evolved. Awesome...And you wrote it in twenty minutes flat??!! Bravo!! Loved this!
ReplyDeleteThe brain is an amazing computer and can assemble ideas at the speed of light, It is the fingers that slow things up as you type into the blog! I like the unfolding from the car as you release yourself into a working frame of mind.
ReplyDeleteI like the relaxed closeness of the relationship between the mother and daughter which resonates in the poem
ReplyDeletethis was beautiful. I loved how you wrote it Susan. It puts wonderful images in my thoughts. :)
ReplyDeleteDear Susan- Robins scatter with the mood- great line, I like the development and structure- but seems to hurry at the end. . . Nice capture of an afternoon! Thanks!
ReplyDelete