Song of the day:
Video of the day:
National Poetry Month
The Metier of Blossoming - Denise Levertov
Fully occupied with growing—that's
the amaryllis. Growing especially
at night: it would take
only a bit more patience than I've got
to sit keeping watch with it till daylight;
the naked eye could register every hour's
increase in height. Like a child against a barn door,
proudly topping each year's achievement,
steadily up
goes each green stem, smooth, matte,
traces of reddish purple at the base, and almost
imperceptible vertical ridges
running the length of them:
Two robust stems from each bulb,
sometimes with sturdy leaves for company,
elegant sweeps of blade with rounded points.
Aloft, the gravid buds, shiny with fullness.One morning—and so soon!—the first flower
has opened when you wake. Or you catch it poised
in a single, brief
moment of hesitation.
Next day, another,
shy at first like a foal,
even a third, a fourth,
carried triumphantly at the summit
of those strong columns, and each
a Juno, calm in brilliance,
a maiden giantess in modest splendor.
If humans could be
that intensely whole, undistracted, unhurried,
swift from sheer
unswerving impetus! If we could blossom
out of ourselves, giving
nothing imperfect, withholding nothing!
Wayback Wednesday
In grade school, a million years ago, we had a teacher who let us make a cake with a friend on our birthdays. I think her name was Mrs. Russell, but I wouldn’t swear to it. This is my friend Brita and the glorious castle cake we made for her birthday that year. I have no idea if it was tasty but it sure does look good. I haven’t seen Brita in many years but we are still in touch via social media. I’m hopeful that our paths will cross again one day, and maybe when they do, there will be cake.