Poem for Thursday

This Waiting
By Heather Burns

I look for a bright fortune in the mail:
A sweepstakes victory, for my poem's
Acceptance in a periodical,
Or some word from you that says yes, confirms,
Agrees, there is an us for the present.

But the painted numbers have long flaked off
And a Mrs. Spider finished payment
On the box, traded an upscale barn loft.
I knock. She's just rehung the ratty silk
Curtains that remind her of all her men
And children, asks if I'll have tea with milk.
No thanks, I've come for mail that hasn't been
Forwarded -- Sorry, haven't seen a thing dear,
But come closer, see my photos, sit here.

--------

I've heard from the insurance company for the shopping center in whose parking lot my van was resting when their streetlamp fell on it. They said we would be covered, but until an adjustor looks at the van, I don't know exactly what that means -- whether I will have to go where they tell me to get it fixed or to my own dealer, whether we will have to pay and be reimbursed later, etc. They did say we would get a rental car but, again, not until the adjustor sees the van. The adjustor is, in theory, supposed to call tomorrow. So there will be no going anywhere for me. If anyone is bored in the morning and wishes to write to me, please feel free to do so, as I am sulking more than I should, it being only a van, and the insurance being far more cooperative at least at this stage than I had expected. But MY NEW VAN...

I also forgot to mention that was an angel and got me a disposable camera to take pictures of the accident while I was freaking out and calling my insurance, my father's law partner, etc. I owe you a trip to a toy store, sweetie. Sorry I am so not-fun right now!

I did manage to get my work done, and I wrote two more drabbles: "Open-Handed" for and "Past and Present" for , both holiday-themed, neither happy. I was going to write more about Finding Neverland but am too stressed and tired and headachy and sulky (sorry ) so instead, some food for thought about Barrie and the film by A.S. Byatt, by John Walsh and from a blog review. And now I am going to go collapse.


If this cheetah looks lonely, it's because the birth of four baby cheetahs have necessitated isolating the female with her kittens -- the first ever bred at the National Zoo, though they were not out for viewing while we were there.


A sloth bear waiting impatiently to be allowed indoors for food and sleep.


The front end of a camel.


The hind end of a zebra.


There is a fairly young giraffe, plus several adults, though the oldest giraffe at the zoo died last year just days after we had seen him outdoors.


And there has been successful breeding of Asian elephants in the Elephant House. Shanthi is the mother; Kandula is the baby.