Poem for Wednesday

The State-Line Stripper
By Rodney Jones

I got lost.
At a family picnic for the employees
of Martha White Self-Rising Flour.
Two lovers found me down by the Tennessee River,
a little fat girl
crying into the lichen on a stone's face,
and took me to the grandstand—

Embarrassing—
I got lost. And then I lost my fear.
Strangers and high places
and nightly publishing myself
naked except for a fireman's hat.
I danced and Jehovah's Witnesses
came unglued in the parking lot.

My creation was like the earth's.
In the beginning there was shame,
then the body after shame,
dangerous happiness—
If I could remember how I got here
I wouldn't be lost.

Yet my body recommends me.
All that I promised that I would not do, I did.
I got over my fear of darkness
when it seemed to me anything out there
would probably be better
than what shone here in the light.

--------

I don't have a lot to report, other than my kids' clothing drawers are cleaned out (though do not tell younger son that yes I AM throwing away his ripped gray sweatpants, nor that the school t-shirt he wore today was his brother's yesterday until I put his size eight in the giveaway pile). Most of older son's stuff is still in wearable condition after 2-3 years of ownership. Most of younger son's stuff is ready for the scrap heap after six months, whether it was new or a hand-me-down. I don't understand exactly what he is doing to his clothes!

All this was accomplished while younger son was visiting a friend and older son was distracted outside on his scooter. Husband's laptop screen appears to have died, so there was no online gaming possible (this means no TV for me if I want to be on the computer, as I can't see the TV from my computer and can't use the laptop, so let's hope it's a quick fix). I would like to mention that if I have to write up one more interview with Kurtzman and/or Orci explaining that they love Star Trek but they can't talk about the movie, I will scream -- I am hoping that Patrick Stewart's 40-years-younger girlfriend gets pregnant or something just to have something else to write about.


These are the penguins of the Virginia coast. Well, actually they're from Africa, living at the Virginia Beach aquarium...


...in an exhibit called "Birds of Play," hee!


Because there are only six penguins, a lot of the exhibit is interactive, like this race to see whether people can carry eggs on their feet the way Emperor penguins do.


There are also video segments on how other species of penguins live in other parts of the world.


Little kids could measure themselves up against various penguins.


Though no one could beat the giant inflatable penguin outside the aquarium.



Live Free or Die Hard! Do I lose all my PC credentials if I am looking forward to this? Oh, and if you want to follow my every Twitter movement here: . Because sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing if I can't read about it.