A watch --gold-- a
Rule of folding brass,
A netting shuttle I
Watched, when I was
Little, get whittled
From shingle under
A shady tree sees me.
Grandma's scissors parked
In Portuguese cork,
A box of pins,
This is how settlement
Begins: someone
Builds a shadow,
A shadowbox, and under
Glass each soul looks
Out, out of the past,
And in reflection
Sees outlines of
Things to be --like
Us, like you and me.
Beautifully written.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Rick. Been working on this poem a long time --and will doubtless continue.
DeleteI've looked at things used by generations before me, and imagined them being used, and what the users might be thinking ... and I've thought about the generations still to come and wonder if they will ponder our little items of everyday use in the same way I do.
ReplyDeleteYou've captured that wondering here, beautifully, Geo.
O Jenny, Every time I think the wondering is captured, the poem rewrites itself. And yes, futurepeople will ponder our time here and hopefully be rewarded by it.
DeleteFunny how when you are young these things just are, but when you are older and look back on them they take on so much more meaning. My great grandmother had an old singer sewing machine in her kitchen. Still think of it every time I see one, and of the weekend I was sent to stay with her, not sure why, and she helped me make a quilt out of old pieces of material she had laying around.
ReplyDeleteDear Chicken, I too had a Treadle-Singer grandma, and when I see her scissors and pinbox in our back porch display, I think of her gentle, busy hands creating and mending at the sewing machine. Sewing didn't stop at usefulness, it was an expression of love.
DeleteI hope that my grandkids remember me the way I remember mine and you yours. For some reason, I've given that so much more weight than I did parenting. Age, I guess.
DeleteOh WOW!!
ReplyDeleteGeo...this truly grabbed me by the Soul.
All those beautiful Souls looking out at us in the here and now...I wonder what they are thinking of us and the way we live now?
Oh gosh...this is utterly delightful...:))
Thank you, Ygraine. I do hope the modern communities that spread over California settlements worked by my grandparents' generation would meet at least somewhat with their approval. They were strong and gentle, and they loved what they learned of us in life. From the shadowbox of memory, they love us still.
DeleteFragile yet certain - a beautiful piece that weaves the past, present, and future together. I'm left with a hopeful grin, as I often am after a visit. Thank you, Geo.
ReplyDeleteTake gentle care.
My pleasure, Robyn.
DeleteI have always thought that newer generations have newer things: newer gadgets, newer tools, newer facilities and services etc.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this post, I realize what I have thought is only partially true. Many things go out of use because many activities or needs themselves get out of favour. Thank you Geo for making me realize this!