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And she’s walking as if her feet hurt

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: crepitus.

I wrote this poem thinking about my sister in 2009. I was writing on everything2.com and they had a “masked poetry ball”. We put up a second identity and part of the contest was guessing who was who. My brother in law and my sister had been on the site for far longer than me. While I was masked, my brother in law sent me a message that the poem reminded him of his wife. Yes, I thought, that poem worked, because I wrote it about her.

And she’s walking as if her feet hurt

And she’s walking as if her feet hurt
Each first metatarsal hits the dirt
Each joint feels like it’s full of grit
Bone on bone and all that shit

And she’s walking as if her feet hurt
Each first metatarsal hits the dirt
It’s no surprise, in fact it grates
To know she carries all those weights

Please rest your feet sometimes my dears
Those silly joints must last for years
One of the many dark deep fears
To walk in pain for years and years

And she’s walking as if her feet hurt
Each first metatarsal hits the dirt
I wish that she could go on home
And put her feet up all alone

I took the picture, of my sister and my son, in 1993 in Portland, Oregon. My sister injured her knee fighting fires when she was 22. Her knee worked after the surgery, but with crepitus within ten years. And her feet started to hurt.

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lumber

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: lumber.

Oh, lumber. Lumber from trees, from forests. Forests make me think of old growth. I have gone to the Hoh Rain Forest twice. The first time it was pouring rain so hard that we abandoned the trip and stayed at a motel in Forks. The second time the sun came out and the wet moss covered trees gleamed and the Roosevelt Elk showed up. It was amazing!

Moss in the Hoh Rain Forest, trailing from the branches.
Moss in the Hoh Rain Forest
Walking under giant fallen trees.
Walking under giant fallen trees.
Lichen in the Hoh Rain Forest.
Lichen.

I took all the photographs except the one with me and the kids: my spouse took that one. These are from 2004.

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kitchen window

My mother had plants all over a shelf running the length of their kitchen. She did a pen and ink drawing of the riot of flowers and pots and leaves. She then did a second one but this time the snapdragons were dragons and there were elves and fairies and monsters in all the plants.

My orchid is blooming riotously right now, with abandon, to the point where the pot barely stays upright. I love orchids, how long the blooms last, and how they would rather not be watered too much, and a flower that perches up on tree branches in jungles: how delightful and romantic is that? This one is in my kitchen window and makes me think of my mother.

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Mundane Monday #192: motion

For Mundane Monday #192, my theme is motion.

What photograph have you taken that captures motion, nature or people in motion?

I love the water and the curling edge of the tide. I traveled to Hawaii last year and bought a book of amazing photographs from inside waves, by Clark Little. My photograph is of a much smaller wave, but I love the rolled edge and the wet sand and knowing that wave will roll up.

Message or link your photograph and I will list them next week.

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Last week’s prompt was reflection.

klallendorfer popped in with a reflection on New Year’s Eve and starting a new job!

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pair

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt: partners.

My plumbing, from the 1930s, backed up yesterday. I pay for emergency service, but they came four hours after I called. I did damage control and then really wanted a shower. My boat is docked at the port, so I went and used the port showers. Whew. That felt better. Plumbing is fixed, hooray.

This pair were swimming in the port when I got there. Snapped with my cell phone. I think they are Barrow’s goldeneye or Common goldeneye ducks. Small diving ducks. They headed away quickly when they realized I was watching.

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winter berries

I am watching the birds and deer eat the winter berries. This is in my yard. I have a tree that I watch out the window at clinic. Robins will land in a flock in three tall trees across the street. They will swoop from across the street in groups and eat the berries. The berries will disappear from the top of the tree down, the most risky and exposed ones last.