Sunday, May 10, 2009

Day of Great Gratitude

Happy Bearday! Happy Bearday! My life is a children's book and the characters include my big bear, a bird, a talking spoon, three dreadful whiskered villians, plus one a ways away with fangs and warm flames in its hot lime eyes. Some tough Utah wild-girls in the form of what? A star-gazer with a comet's risque heat, a boomerang moon-girl with spiral locks and a horse they call Wildfire back to the state that is a sheetcake with one gone piece. There are more, a veacey vixen in Brooklyn with a heart that blooms sunflowers...

The Bear is the big, gentle being that feeds the rest, by heart and by mouth. Prettiest thing, he makes the world better by casting his brilliant, lovely, talented shadow on the grateful ground. Thank something for him. Stop now and do it. May 10, 1965 was an inspired day. One day in Alabama some thirty years later would change my life forever and I never stop feeling lucky for it. Good work Gloria and Jack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday You Wonder, You!

To all my dear ones who are also Mom-ones, Happiest Day to you. How I envy you your crayoned cards, your goofy love gifts with their smudgy prints.

To Magda, Dora and Mollie, my borrowed kids. You have a great mom (who is a bit sad today, no doubt,) but special beyond, like all of you.

To my students, I happy mother's day your moms--without them, no you and that is pretty unimaginable even to a crowd like us whose thoughts are tropical birds.

The gratitudes stroll by in twos and twos of twos like Noah-beasts or the participants in a mass cult wedding. They are vintage salt shaker you toaster, you two slices of bread, perforated. Birthday cake. Meringue. The park with the pond at the center and the fountain that spouts a true water lily. The seed pods left behind in late winter that rattle like maracas. The December day when I wintered there, warmly and wishing.

1 comment:

Lesley Jenike said...

I just have to wonder who that talking spoon is...