Out of Her Element

I know, I know. I haven't posted anything new in a really long time. I have many excuses, but I won't bore you with that. I have been very bad. I have been very neglectful. I have not been writing like I promised myself and I feel just awful about it.

We recently moved ... again. I'm still in the process of establishing a decent work area for myself. It will take a while to get settled in the new place, so it could be quite some time in between blog posts. I apologize in advance to any followers I may still have. I'm sorry. Truly. I have promised myself to do better.

Enough of that ...

I was just going through a random bag and came across a folded piece of paper towel. On it was a poem I had scribbled on it way back in 2009. We had recently moved in with my in laws to share expenses, which meant leaving the urban sprawl of Los Angeles for rural living in the Morongo Basin. I not only had to adjust to new surroundings, but also to sharing a household with my mother-in-law. I don't really remember writing this poem. That happens sometimes. I find a random slip of paper or a napkin and, though I can recall the feeling or sentiment, I have no recollection whatsoever of putting pen to paper.

And, for the record, I can not imagine ever moving back to LA.

Out of Her Element

As the laundry blows softly in the intermittent breeze,

the laundress, reluctant to the concept,

having dwelt in the city her whole life,

where there’s little room for impractical clothes lines,

finds herself hanging sheets as a compromise.

To her surprise, the sound of the occasional billowing

and watching her little boy run in between the sheets giggling

soothes her uneasiness.

And she hums softly to herself

as she thinks of how the desert in July

is very much like her old Whirlpool dryer.

(written 7/2/2009)