Reading Journal

I'm almost done with "The Bluest Eye!" This means I'll be getting to "Draglines" soon!

p. 164
"Knowing his label provided him with both comfort and courage, he believed that to name an evil was to neutralize if not annhiliate it."

I really identify with this. It wasn't until I discovered more about Seasonal Affective (Depression) Disorder that I was able to fight it. When I learned about it, I realized that I had had it for a number of years but had dismissed it for various reasons. Once I was educated, I learned how to take hold of the disorder and have been able to neutralize it more often than not. Which is much improvement from where I was before I knew what was going on with my body and emotional life.

p. 206
"Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly..."
Hard to believe this is Morrison's first novel. I might re-read "Beloved" again as my next "Old."

Writing Journal (Day 18)

This is the result of my late-night, exhaust-filled attempt at writing a poem from the perspective of another person. Due to distraction, I was not able to give it my utmost attention while composing. Certainly didn't help matters that the event inspiring the poem had happened earlier in the week, so the memory was not fresh. Not my best. I'll be lucky to get 2 decent poems out of this challenge. *le sigh*

Little Girl
Would she have laughed so hard
Had she known what I knew?
I couldn't help but notice
How happy she seemed.
It wasn't a facade;
Those smiles were really real.
And beautifully flushing her cheeks.

Still, I desired to see her
As distraught as I felt.
I wished to take back my knowing,
To pack it all away.
Since I can't share it,
I take solace in knowing
It isn't my place
To fuel her fears
And spoil her smile.

Reading Journal

Finsihing up a chapter in "The Bluest Eye," I came across this passage and it's my new favorite. Even better than the definition of "to the pain" given by Wesley in "The Princess Bride."

In short, it's about the inability to understand unconditional love. The love in particular it's talking about is from child to parent, but it can easily be applied to any unconditional love. One of the times I re-read it last night, I did so with an eternal perspective and was really moved. Our Heavenly Father loves all of us, despite some of us not knowing what to do with it. The answer (for me) is simple: love Him back.

p. 161
If he looked into her face, he would see those haunted, loving eyes. The hauntedness would irritate him--the love would move him to fury. How dare she love him? Hadn't she any sense at all? What was he supposed to do about that? Return it? How? What could his calloused hands produce to maker her smile? What of his knowldege of the world and of life could be useful to her? What could his heavy arms and befuddled brain accomplish that would earn him his own respect, that would in turn allow him to accept her love?

Writing Journal (Day 17)

The inspiration for this poem came from today's entry on Colorfly Studio. (Which I am now publicly following.) It's a picture of an old letterpress drawer that reminded me of a shelving unit we had in our living room growing up. It was home to many knick-knacks and I decided to start a list poem. Again, not very good for anything other than practice and meeting the requirements of this challenge.

Knick-Knacks
R2-D2, a tigerish kitty cat,
Little toy trucks for Raisin Bran,
Pea-sized Disney characters,
California Rasins (or were those upstairs?),
That discus-posed figurine
With the black porcelain hair,
Those tea tins from a rummage sale...
(Had I been the least bit supersitious,
I would have been suspicious I was the one to blame.)

I can't even remember
What all was there, yet I know
Somehow those mementos
Have disappeared,
Faded to who knows where.

Writing Journal (Day 16)

Something happened on Day 15 that, while it was a big deal to a very dear friend of mine, it wasn't something I thought would effect my emotions too much. But I realized on Day 16 that it had. Quite a bit. I had to tap a lot of restraint before I was able to go on break and let some of those emotions out in poetic form.

Final Straw
Didn't think I'd be so mad,
But this so-called love
Is getting in the way.
It's where I eat,
Where I sleep,
What I breathe.

Three dead skunks remind me
Spring in the kingdom
Is not near--it's here!

He knows he did her wrong,
And now he wants her gone.
He battles the weak
And tries calling it fair.
His disadvantage is his advantage.