School's Out for the Day—One of my town's colonial homes. The color has been played with but the composition is real. There are icicles everywhere these days. And shiny glass windows. Click to enlarge!
The wind is brutal, the rain icy-cold. I shiver and hold out my empty fists, My stomach twists with hollow cramps . . . The hunger – not unbearable, Its dulls my wits and sets the mind a-swim . . . My vision dims, most pleasantly, I tremble, I weep, and quite detached I watch myself. Am I asleep? Or do I now belong among the dead?
And yet I know I am alive, I know Because along my boney cheek A tear escapes, it quickly turns to ice – How nice, how nice to remember . . . to see, I see – icicles . . . and me: A little girl, a window sill, And frost upon the pane . . . (and down the lane, a friend) My mother’s voice, the smell of food, My father’s laughter fills the air.
I sigh, I stare . .. the wind has chased My dreams away and left but emptiness. The icicles now burn my lips, They turn to salt – it’s true, There are no “bitter tears,” ‘cause tears . . . and blood . . . sweat too. . . They all taste salty, tart – And bitterness? Ah, bitterness, THAT dwells within my heart.
I am cold, hungry, I hurt . . Does anyone know I am here? Does anyone care?
i like both! I would absolutely love to live in an original home from the 1600s or 1700s, there are many around here. But I'd also love to live in a mid-century modern house with lots of full glass walls, like a Frank Lloyd Wright home, there are several of that type around here too.
If I were fabulously rich and totally self-indulgent I would want a ton of homes all different; a city loft, a small cottage with a rose trellis, a log house, an A-Frame somewhere in Idaho, a place on the beach, maybe like in the movie Beaches,and yes....a fabulous glass house (I promise not to throw stones) and I hear the Ferris Bueller's Day Off house is for sale.....
And I'm not forgetting that house on that island near you, Casey.
Oh and I would also like tons of different dinnerware, funky and colorful, odd shapes and sizes....
I wonder if I suddenly won the lottery, would I give most of it away or simply spoil myself?
Sonia Weitz, Holocaust survivor, poem Icicles --
ReplyDeleteThe wind is brutal, the rain icy-cold.
I shiver and hold out my empty fists,
My stomach twists with hollow cramps . . .
The hunger – not unbearable,
Its dulls my wits and sets the mind a-swim . . .
My vision dims, most pleasantly,
I tremble, I weep, and quite detached
I watch myself. Am I asleep?
Or do I now belong among the dead?
And yet I know I am alive, I know
Because along my boney cheek
A tear escapes, it quickly turns to ice –
How nice, how nice to remember . . . to see,
I see – icicles . . . and me:
A little girl, a window sill,
And frost upon the pane . . .
(and down the lane, a friend)
My mother’s voice, the smell of food,
My father’s laughter fills the air.
I sigh, I stare . .. the wind has chased
My dreams away and left but emptiness.
The icicles now burn my lips,
They turn to salt – it’s true,
There are no “bitter tears,”
‘cause tears . . . and blood . . . sweat too. . .
They all taste salty, tart –
And bitterness? Ah, bitterness,
THAT dwells within my heart.
I am cold, hungry, I hurt . .
Does anyone know I am here?
Does anyone care?
Great piece of poetry, thanks for classing up the place, Annie! : (
ReplyDeleteLike that photo very much, reminds me of the school from Little House On The Prairie but in red.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you prefer the old colonial look of buildings or something a bit more modern for the New England area?
i like both! I would absolutely love to live in an original home from the 1600s or 1700s, there are many around here. But I'd also love to live in a mid-century modern house with lots of full glass walls, like a Frank Lloyd Wright home, there are several of that type around here too.
ReplyDeleteIf I were fabulously rich and totally self-indulgent I would want a ton of homes all different; a city loft, a small cottage with a rose trellis, a log house, an A-Frame somewhere in Idaho, a place on the beach, maybe like in the movie Beaches,and yes....a fabulous glass house (I promise not to throw stones) and I hear the Ferris Bueller's Day Off house is for sale.....
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm not forgetting that house on that island near you, Casey.
Oh and I would also like tons of different dinnerware, funky and colorful, odd shapes and sizes....
I wonder if I suddenly won the lottery, would I give most of it away or simply spoil myself?