Just another What Day is It Anyway post, inspired by Linda Hill.
Happy Rainy Monday. As the first tropical storm of the season comes in early, here in the foothills we are readying ourselves for several days of rain with the possibility of some severe storms. Predictions are we may see a month’s worth of rain in 2-3 days.
We managed to squeeze in a short walk this morning before the rain started. I snapped a few pics of the garden now that the plants are in. I am keeping my fingers crossed hoping the rain is not too intense and does not destroy all the beautiful vegetable starts we planted.
- purple kale
- several lettuce varieties
- cucumbers
- spicy peppers
- sweet bell pepper
- tomatoes
- dill
- cilantro
- basil
Yesterday was the last day of “Writers of the Pandemic 2” with Patti Digh. This morning, with no assigned work to complete, I am welcoming the break. These past two weeks I have discovered a few things. I love to write, but poetry does not come naturally to me. I enjoy prose; It is more like sipping tea with a friend to me. (Do I really know the difference?) I have also learned I do not like to stay in darkness for long when I write. It has a way of taking roost that I prefer to discourage.
I wrote this piece after reading about the attack in the maternity ward in Kabul. If I share more writing from the class, it will be found on my ‘Writing in the Pandemic’ page.
If I Were a Poet
If I were a poet
Would I write about
the curl of a rose petal
or the sun sparkling on water
or lovers’ holding hands
walking down my street?
No, I am afraid I would
scribble out darkness
about roaches that crawl
out of the bellies of evil men
hurled at women giving birth
in a hospital far far away.
I don’t like the taste of the words
swirling around the heaviness
clutching at my heart
at night when the velvet shadows
choke the moon from the sky.
Instead I might write about
puppies
and kittens
and flowers
and puffy clouds
that taste like cotton candy.
I intend to sign-up for the third class. It does not start until early June. The break will be good, but I do want to continue on.
Hubby and I like British television shows but I have been frustrated of late. We were watching “The Great Pottery Showdown” on YouTube. I think we watched one season and then almost another full season when the videos disappeared from YouTube. Is there some issue when shows switch networks that make them unavailable in the U.S.?
We started watching “Doc Martin“ on Hulu where I think there are five seasons available. It took a few episodes for me to like this show, but I find myself rooting for poor old Martin hoping he gains some self-realization.
Television has been enjoyable these last couple of weeks. I lack focus to read and absorb much. I went out for the first real excursions last Saturday – masked and gloved, of course. It seems last week was a week of quarantine blues for a lot of people. I wonder if scientists will study our behavior after the fact and discover some timeframe in which something happens in our brain. It seemed to hit everyone at once.
Since I have more time on my hands, I have changed the way I drink my morning coffee. When we traveled to Portugal years ago, the breakfast buffet always had a huge urn of strong coffee (or perhaps espresso) and a large urn of warm milk. I drank it 50/50 and it was divine. So, now, I am leisurely steaming (I lied – I use a microwave) milk and making what I suppose is an Americano type beverage. Yummy!
Don’t forget to notice the beautiful things. They are out there!
I share your interest in British TV. You are so write that there is beauty everywhere. All my star lilies are in bloom and they are glorious. Enjoy the break from the writing as you will return to it refreshed and ready to go again.
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Thank you, Lauren. I need the break so I can be fresh for the next round. I hope you will post some photos of your lilies. They sound lovely.
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It is raining today but as soon as the sun comes out I will do so.
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what a lovely project you had, Maggie and you have quite a variety of plants! love your poetry 🙂 🙂
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Thank you, Wilma. Hubby did all the hard work. I just planted after the fact! And thank you for the poetry comment. It is not my element at all, but I do try.
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I am very impressed with the raised bed affair your hubby has built. It looks lovely now with the plants growing. I am feeling depressed on and off now but there is plenty going on and hubby’s family are not nice.
I like your poetry, I too was deeply touched by that event 💜
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I am so sorry you are feeling sadness. These times are tough enough without people who cannot be nice and kind.
I have mad respect for your poetry, so I appreciate your comment about my poem.
Yes, the garden is superb! I am hopeful the plants do well. I look forward to harvesting some of the goodness!
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Life goes on, we will all get there, your food will be so embellished by your produce 💜💜
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We have had 3 inches of rain in the last 24 hours. I hope the garden survives!
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It will Gia knows what she is doing 💜
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Our poor little garden flooded twice. Our home rain gauge says we had 16.38 inches of rain. It has been a wet, wet week, but the sun is out today!
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I do hope your garden survives, nature is very resilient! 💜💜
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Lovely flower, Maggie. It goes with your poem. Like you I really like good United Kingdom television. Last week the cable company let us watch several premium channel for free.
I binged on Foyles Law. Saw it years ago and it was like an old friend. And so topical today. The restrictions, the shortages, the threat of dying.
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Don, we cut the cable last year, so we only stream now. We have one small subscription service we pay for at about $20 a month. I am not familiar with Foyle’s Law. I will check it out.
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Pottery Throw Down and Doc Martin are so cosy. I never watch them! Doc Martin is ‘tourism TV’, attracting hordes of people to its cute locations. We make such ‘edgy’ drama here, and yet some Americans enjoy things like ‘Bake Off’, and ‘Midsomer Murders’. I despair! Let me know if you ever want recommendations for really good drama with that ‘edge’. 🙂
(Or maybe that’s just ‘me’?)
Best wishes, Pete.
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Ha, Pete. I thought I would hear from you and your possible disdain for these shoes. I think they are our inane escape from reality lately. No need to take any of it too seriously. I doubt during the virus there will be many tourists popping round anywhere, but I understand about people’s curiosity ruining a quiet hamlet.
We watched season one of The Split, but that disappeared, too, only available now through some subscription service.
I am always open to suggestions. Not all programming is available here. I noticed there are new subscription offerings but adding to our monthly expenses is not in the cards.
Thanks, Pete!
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I am not sure what you can get where over there, though many Americans rave about Britbox, which I don’t think you have.
In no particular order, I recommend all these, mainly from the BBC
Gentleman Jack.
Killing Eve.
The Bodyguard.
The Last Kingdom.
Luther.
Line of Duty.
Happy Valley.
Silent Witness.
Poldark. (Modern remake)
US TV Shows;
Homeland.
The Handmaid’s Tale.
That’s a start. 🙂
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I will check them out, Pete. I have watched all of The Handmaid’s Tale.
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I’m the same prose versus poetry. I had a spurt last week writing a few day’s of limericks, but I generally prefer prose. I did think about why this is, and prose is just more direct. If I write a limerick, I try and make it have a payload of some kind, e,g. such-and-such a politician did something really dumb. Lots of fodder, at least.
Doc Marten is on some channel most every night here. I like the scenery, it is Port Isaac in Cornwall. /but it sounds pretty horrendous because they are very restrictive during filming in the summer months. Doc Marten (Martin Clunes) was actually a comic actor before he tried his hand at this. Try finding something called Men Behaving Badly (be warned it is *very* different!
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Thank you for the insight and the suggestion. I will check it out. Not all the programming is available here.
Yes, writing poetry and prose is outside of my bailiwick I’m afraid. I try, though.
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I just finished watching “Never Have I Never,” a very believable series on Netflix of a high school sophomore. Totally non-covid related. Totally non upsetting. Totally realistic. In case you are looking for a well written alternative. Poem really expresses the difficulty of writing poetry about atrocity and the temptation to go far away from the theme. Well done.
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It is important to watch non-Covid, and sometimes mindless, offerings. For me, at least.
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The garden beds and plants look very nice. It’s a look of promise 🙂
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I agree. Just hoping the three inches of rain we have had since yesterday doesn’t destroy all the new plants. Poor timing on our part.
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Your poem is wonderful. It resonates. It may not come naturally, but you have a talent there that may be worth exploring. Your contrast of how we want to live despite the heaviness we carry shines beautifully through your words. 😊
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Thank you for your kind comment. I am willing to stretch myself beyond my comfort zone. These times are difficult to capture in something lyrically evocative. For me, anyway.
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