I have a vision in my mind
Of fresh clean laundry hanging on the line
On a sparkling day,
The breeze is still a little cool this time of year
But the sun is already very warm.
The sheets dance in this back yard behind the old house
They are as graceful as I have ever wanted to be.
Laugh if you want to, liberated women.
This is how ambitious I am.
I would rather be in this yard with the smell of the laundry
And the song of the love-desperate birds all around me
Than anywhere else on earth.
And, yes, I do know the difference.
I’ve been to many great places.
I’ve stood humbly at the crypts of kings whose wars and whores gave shape to my little life many centuries later.
I’ve seen the sinews in the forearms of David
and swore blood flowed through his marble figure, that he was just about to breathe
and move about the Renaissance square.
I’ve stood in the chapel frozen in consummate awe of a painter
who smeared his very soul onto the ceiling with such inspired eloquence.
I’ve heard the genius of great musicians pouring out in magnificent crystal halls and felt my soul swept into heaven.
I’ve stood in the queues and felt the electricity in the air
Flow through my body and think it is the most miraculous, joyful sensation.
And I can tell you – because I know –
There is no place else on earth
As lovely as this yard
With the catalpa in bloom,
The cool spring with its warm air,
The smell of the fresh turned earth
And the ballet of the laundry on the line.
Laugh if you want to.
I know the difference.
In a list
A contest entry
- Beautiful Things by Celticjedi.
600 points, ended August 6, 2008, 15 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Best of the Best by Night Terrors.
400 points, ended May 25, 19 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - HOME by second-born.
1200 points, ended August 13, 2008, 18 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Pre-writes Rounds Contest by DancingStar.
400 points, ended October 23, 65 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 11 of 11
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Yes, honey, you DO know the difference and I utterly agree. I'm becoming a fan of washing lines of late..... Hope you are very well and happy. This was a complete treat to read. Love, Debs. PS Lovely photo.....
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Hello, Darling. Remember when you waxed eloquently to me about the little cottage you used to live in? I wrote this when I lived in my old house. It was the happiest place I had ever lived in my life. I hated leaving there. Long story. Glad you like this.
Thank you also for the compliment on the photo. I hesitated for a long time to put my photo on this site, so your comment makes me feel better.
Love,
Camille
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Kindest of the gifts you've given. Such a contented peace; a centered balanced understaHnding of what is important. It surprises me the people who are surprised to hear that catalpa grow billows of orchid like bloooooooooms. (Deaaam and I thot Iwas getting han g of this laptop...) /q/wg=WHOOO1! TRIGGER!
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Thank you, Moon,
I just corrected my spelling of "catalpa". That particular tree wasthe largest catalpa I've seen anywhere, and in the spring it was indescribably beautiful. That's where my magnolia was, too -- and my heart. I wrote that poem in the spring of 2005. It was a different world for me when I was there.
Love,
Camille
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/catawba is apparently a good spelling, colloquial and appropriate, if you prefer it. It is also a lovely wood for carving. I saw a sculpture of a man bending and hugging a woman around the waiste in K??'"kA craftsman's guide to wood technology" that was so warm and compelling... My 9 year old told everyone I wa s 8 and on stilts in an old man costume! That way we got twice the candy! How did you do tonite, Tinkerbell? get any candy?
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"I would rather be in this yard with the smell of the laundry and the song of the love-desperate birds all around me than anywhere else on earth" - tis a wonder where we find our contentment. i love how the simple beauty of this line beguiles the wondrous description of some of the wonders the world adores which follows.
a treat to read and i suspect see performed as well.
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Thank you, my friend. If you could have stood there inside me on that beautiful day at that brief time in my life, you would have seen, too, how beautiful it was.
Love,
Camille
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This is a great piece, I like everything about it! Really well done, love the picture is that you in you're back yard? Good work thanks for enterin
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Thank you very much! No, the woman in the photo has my coloring and looks a little like me, but isn't me. I chose that photo because she looks so serene.
Again, my thanks,
Camille Morin
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this was great I loved it you did such a great job
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This is the best poem I have ever read. By far. The voice in which you wrote it is so confident and true, nothing can stand in its way. You could talk yourself to the top of the world with a voice like this, for this you know is the most beautiful thing, even if you have seen the whole world. Brilliant. Simply brilliant. Keep up this sensational work. Thank you for entering, and best of luck.
~Cj
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