Friday, February 03, 2012

Things I Completely Forgot to Talk About This Week (In Which I Cram Together Poetry Friday, Groundhog Day, Stuff With My Kids and My Anniversary)

1. Atticus and I have now been married for 28 years. Here's a post from 2010 with a little tribute to him. Everything in it is still true (+ two years). Happy anniversary, Atticus!

2. February 2 was Candlemas, a beautiful feast day. (More about it here, too.)

3. February 2 was also Groundhog Day. Here's my Groundhog (the movie) Day Shrinklit. And, since it's Poetry Friday, I will also rerun the shrinklit here, to save you clicking (because clicking can be so taxing.)

Karen's Groundhog Day Shrinklit

Phil: at first, a selfish jerk
Focused on his fun and work
Women were a toy or game
Till every day became the same.

Quite suddenly, no rules apply
Steal some money, tell a lie
Nihilism's worth a spin
until despair comes crashing in

Suicide just didn't take
Surely something is at stake
Could it be that it is worth
Striving for a true rebirth?

Self improvement: worth a try?
Though all past ways it does defy?
Selflessness for its own sake?
Letting go of all that's fake?

Helping, saving, giving, tears
Authentic feelings, first in years
Letting go of all that's old
Lets in truth, releases cold

Something genuine and kind
Allows this man his best to find
Is this conversion? God at work?
Or one colossal cosmic quirk?

4. We had some things to take care of in Omaha this week, so we also hit the zoo:

Ramona shares a moment with a gorilla. 

5. At an intersection in Omaha, I was stopped, waiting to make a right turn. The "No Right Turn on Red" sign was lit, then it went off, and I made my turn. 

"No! Mommy!" said Ramona, "The sign said not to turn!" 

"No," Anne-with-an-e gently corrected, "that's only when it's on. The sign wasn't lit anymore, so it's okay to make the turn now." 

"Well," insisted Ramona, "it was still emotionally there."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Poetry Friday roundup is at The Iris Chronicles

5 comments:

jama said...

Happy Anniversary! What a lot of goodies in this post. Relieved that you're not actually married to a groundhog :D . . .

david elzey said...

love the shrinklit! i like poems about other media in general, but movies are a soft spot for me. and much as i love groundhog day (both the movie and faux holiday) there's some details about that movie that just don't quite line up. like a time travel paradox problem: if he keeps reliving the same day over and over, as if anew, how could he possibly befriend all those townspeople so quickly on the same day he meets them?

a quandary for another time. thanks for sharing!

Karen Edmisten said...

Thanks, Jama and David!

David, I know what you mean about the movie and its time travel/chronology problems, but there's always *something* wrong with any take on time travel, isn't there? :) I love this movie so much -- love the way he spends that one day, again and again, becoming a new person.

Anonymous said...

Happy Anniversary! I love poems. My poetry book just released for sale yesterday. I also have a giveaway for a free signed copy going on here: http://lilgracielou.blogspot.com/2012/02/release-date-and-special-giveaway.html

I hope you had a great time at the zoo. One of my many favorite places are zoo's. Sounds like you had a crazy busy week :) Time for some long R&R time. Enjoy the weekend.

GatheringBooks said...

Hi Karen, I agree, this is such a rich post indeed! Enjoy your anniversary, and I love the red sign being 'emotionally' there most of all! :)