Fulcrums

"Cedar waxwings dart among the swallows
Iridescent fish with wings,
Layers of life above the water.
Under, the trout."

- Judith Beach Nichols (1919-1979)

Author Sue Miller uses this verse of poetry written by her mother, before the opening chapter of her book "While I was Gone". I wouldn't go into reviewing the book, but in short, these lines capture the feelings of the protagonist as she lies in the bow of the boat, suspended between the water below and the sky above, in an idyllic moment with her husband on the lake, before the beginning of a chain of events which will threaten the entire life she has built up around her.

And this is how life is. Moments, sandwiched between more moments, such that we may scarcely pause to identify them...moments which act as the fulcrum for the turning into place of an entirely new chapter in our lives. Sometimes, they are more obvious....such as the moving of a train away from the station, carrying us to a new city and a new life, or the start of a new job, or the exchange of rings....but then, there are other moments....standing at the window on a white-light afternoon and watching the raindrops dent the mud, waiting in a windy crowded bus stop for the evening bus home to arrive, lying in bed at the drowsy-aware threshold of sleep...moments when, as Sue Miller puts it, we are "abruptly and most intensely, sharply aware of all the aspects of life surrounding [us], and yet of feeling neither part of it nor truly separated from it. Somehow impartial, unattached - an observer. Yet sentient of it all. Deeply sentient, in fact. But to no apparent purpose". And yet, often, these are the very moments which in some sub-conscious way, teach us the most about ourselves and help us find some purpose...some direction in the long journey of life.

We wish you...

I don't remember having used a blog to wish a person....but then, birthdays are special occasions, and when it is a birthday of one of my dearest friends...I suppose I can make an exception...

...NWD, I know that today is a reminder that you are older and greyer, but then, a lot wiser too, with a year more of experiences, knowledge, equations and friends....and that's something!

So Happy Birthday! God bless you, always and always!

Ever the best of friends!

:-)

Hair today...

With few exceptions, the women in nearly all hair product advertisements have long, shiny, straight, silky, black hair….hair which doesn’t get tangled in the rain, hair which glides through fingers (never mind whose), hair which allows combs to slide through it, without the slightest tangle or loss of strands……And so, the message is driven home again and again – for a special occasion, get your hair straightened…..silky straight hair is beautiful hair….and if you don’t have it, don’t bother flaunting anything!

Now, I don’t have a problem with straight, silky hair. I think on the right people, it looks beautiful! In fact, when I was younger and foolish, on two near-fatal occasions, I vainly attempted to get such straight silky hair for myself. But then, as I grew older, I also grew a wee bit wiser.

Straight hair is great for some people. Some are born with poker straight hair…good for them! But not all of us have it….and well, I never did. What I DID have, though, was a mane of unruly curls….curls that misbehaved, curls that knotted and frizzed out in the rain, curls which I can never dream of getting my fingers through, curls that take an hour of hard labour to comb out, and which, at the end, look the same as before, broken comb in hand….so, no, I never had hair which any product would put up as their poster-hair. And yet, I found that whether I went to parties or I went to church, while other poker-straight friends were passed by without a second glance, I would be stopped (often by women nonetheless!), to have my hair ooohed and aaahed at, and receive comments like “such lovely hair!”. “where did you get it permed from??”, “how much did it cost to get your hair done?”….and that’s when it hit me, (this was shortly after the second fatal attempt), that my curly locks, though not commercially perfect hair by far, were beautiful in their own way! What was more, in a world of poker straight strands, my curls stood out on their own (literally!), and people were actually willing to pay cash (I’m talking huge amounts!), to get hair like mine!!

That’s when I realized, that I should be proud to have my hair…for the sole reason that it is mine, I could never have had hair which suited me better, and most importantly, because “it’s different”, with a beauty of its own!

I often come across women, who have hidden curls….hidden because they could be out like mine, but are, instead, straightened, or tied back severely, or oiled and plaited away….now that would be perfectly fine, if those women were fine with it….but when they come to me and say “oh we wish we had hair like yours”, there’s only one thing I can say to them, “you do have hair like mine….maybe more curly, maybe less, maybe a different type of curl….but the point is, it is beautiful, and you could not have been given a more perfect gift….so please, free those locks, and be proud of the hair you were born with!”

Sometimes, I think that in the midst of all this commercial bombardment of ‘straight and silky’, people should harken back to their childhood lessons….to quote the words of the nursery rhyme, encapsulating perfect beauty, which my little 5 (almost 6) year old neighbour sings:

“Chubby cheeks, dimpled chin,
Rosy lips, teeth within,
Curly hair……..”

Need I say more?

Now, as a policy, I don't put up any of my poetry. But, I have decided to make an exception. Not because I think this poem is extraordinary, but because this is the first of my poems to appear anywhere. I'm not too sure about IPR issues with respect to putting up something one has already submitted somewhere and it was published, when one was the author of it....but I will worry about that only if I have to....or when I learn about IPR in fourth year, and my conscience gets the better of me. So well....here it is....my first poem to actually appear somewhere...it is now in the public domain, and I don't have to face my usual fears of someone snitching something off my blog.

What I Nearly Missed

A day grappling with the Constitution,
Nightmarish Articles and rights.
Project submissions threateningly near,
Stress levels were reaching new heights.

As evening clouds hung low, swollen with rain,
My weekly pilgrimage began.
An hour of traffic jams before I’d reach,
Nothing comforts, the way home can.

On the way, though, was a chore to complete,
A task I’d not done in a month.
But the ride was long, and I, all but gone,
And tempted to play the truant.

The rain became heavy, I had no choice,
Paid my fare and ran in the door.
Worship had begun, I hid in the crowds,
Tired and wet; chilled to the core.

There was love in the music, warmth in song,
My chilled soul thawed as I stood still.
Not for long; something raised my weary arms,
An unseen power, did that room, fill.

It was wonderful, the joy that I felt!
Praising Him-pleasure in itself!
Energy from somewhere, reviving me,
Alive! Forgot books on their shelf.

An hour, spent with people I didn’t know,
Yet bound; All saved by the same God.
I felt rejuvenated; this was home!
All gathered, to worship one Lord.

Meeting ended, I walked into the night,
Cold winds; but I barely noticed.
My faith was renewed; I felt ecstatic…
Imagine what I nearly missed!