Coming of Age 1966
By Sharon Olds
When I came to sex in full, not sex
by fits and starts, but day and night,
when I lived with him, I thought I'd go crazy
with shock and awe. In Latin class
my jaw would drop when I would remember
the night, the morning, the in the out the
in, the long torso of the beloved
lowered lifted lowered. When he wasn't
there, when he worked 36 On,
8 Off, 36 On, 8 Off,
I'd sit myself down to memorize Latin
so as not to go mad--my brain felt like a
planet gone oval, wobbling out of
orbit, pulling toward a new ellipsis,
I learned a year of Latin in a month,
aced the test, made love, wept, when he was
working all night I'd believe that a burglar might
actually be climbing the wall outside my window,
palm to the stone rosette, toe on the
granite frond, like the prowler who'd scaled the first
storey next door, been peeled from the wall
and kicked in the head. And every time
I tried to write a love poem,
giving the lovers their flesh on the page,
the child with her clothes burned off by napalm
ran into the poem screaming. I was
a Wasp child of the suburbs, I felt
cheated by Lyndon Johnson, robbed of my
entrance into the erotic, my birthright
of ease and joy. I understood
almost nothing of the world, but I knew that I was
connected to the girl running, her arms
out to the sides, like a plucked heron, I was
responsible for her, and helpless to reach her,
like the man on the sidewalk, his arms up
around his head, and all I did
was memorize Latin, and make love, and sometimes
march, my heart aching with righteousness.
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Brought to my attention by
You are Domestic Clex
You love the comfort of home. You own at least one
pet and know how to handle yourself in the
kitchen. You'd rather be at home than anywhere
else because, after all, home is where the
heart is.
Which Clex Are You??
brought to you by Quizilla
Afterwards I did this quiz some more and discovered that it has some great results, like Future Clex and Happily-Ever-After Clex. I'm bummed it had no button to show all of them.
Discovered via
Friday Five:
1. What time do you wake up on weekday mornings?
As close to 8 a.m as possible. I don't function at all before 7 so my family knows there is no point in waking me.
2. Do you sleep in on the weekends? How late?
As late as my kids allow. 9-9:30 when very lucky.
3. Aside from waking up, what is the first thing you do in the morning?
As there is usually a cat nearby, move her aside so I can get up.
4. How long does it take to get ready for your day?
If I'm working online, five minutes. If I am showering to go someplace, 30-40 minutes. This all depends on whether "my day" for the purposes of this question includes getting my kids to school. If so, then 30-40 minutes for that, plus however long it is going to take me to get my own stuff ready to go.
5. When possible, what is your favorite place to go for breakfast?
Bagel City. My husband makes better pancakes and eggs than most restaurants.
Twilight from the Campground at Devil's Tower
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