Directed elsewhere. Looking for information about fingers and toes in the final stages of life. Instead I found myself reading "Aristotle" by Billy Collins.
Dad held his left side with his right hand when he wasn't raising that arm to help clear his airways. He got down a 4 oz. protein shake in tiny sips. His fingers look oddly red inside a translucent skin--raw hamburger in a latex glove.
An elephant crashing through the roof? Should I go upstairs expecting a leaking disaster? We had five inches of rain since school dismissal Tuesday. It seems better to stay downstairs in the condo and ignorant.
Swallowing a bit better, Dad got down three ounces of applesauce with cinnamon. The thunder and rain bands have move east.
The tv news is all about half-submerged SUVs under flooded overpasses. Soggy upholstery unanticipated. Weather reports unconsulted. Preschoolers arriving in capri pants and short sleeves. An elephant crashing? Be forewarned and forearmed in prophylactic attire. Dang cold in the sharp wind and mist at school dismissal. Oh, did you mean that weather was for moi????
The preschoolers would love it if I read The Piggy In the Puddle every single afternoon. The repetition helps them feel confident, and the language lights up all sorts of little twinkly synapses. The piggy is in the very merry middle of the muddy little puddle, diving way down derry. The preschoolers chime in, "What you need is lots of SOAP!"
The piggy may also be in the middle of a January NPR pledge drive. Wait, wait! Life is one long pledge drive, and then you finally meet your matching challenge grant?
© 2011 Nancy L. Ruder
2 comments:
Repetition is good, essential. I'm listening to music repeated from my young-adulthood (Jimmy Cliff, Van Morrison, Neil Young and the night is still...Young.) I see you repeated the word prophylaxis or a variant thereof. Meandering is also good, I think... code word is sumband, which may be what I listen to next.
Re: the pledge drive of life. I think you have hit the elephant on the head!
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