Sunday, April 04, 2010

Poem for Sunday and Cherry Blossoms

In Your Absence
By Judith Harris


Not yet summer,
but unseasonable heat
pries open the cherry tree.

It stands there stupefied,
in its sham, pink frills,
dense with early blooming.

Then, as afternoon cools
into more furtive winds,
I look up to see
a blizzard of petals
rushing the sky.

It is only April.
I can't stop my own life
from hurrying by.
The moon, already pacing.

--------

We got up very early for a holiday Saturday to go downtown to see the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin. It was an absolutely gorgeous morning, overcast and not too warm, though it had gotten both crowded and hot by the time we left. The trees were gorgeous, and it's always nice to walk around the Jefferson, Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington, and World War II memorials, but I have a horrible, painful rash on my neck since last night -- probably caused by some combination of sun, sunblock, Lush solid perfume, public restroom soap, and who knows what else -- and got almost no sleep, plus I took Benadryl which made me completely loopy. I am not even sure if these photos are clear, though at least with the Benadryl I was not bothered at all by pollen!

















We ended up coming home before lunch and I fell asleep for a while, then called my doctor who advised me to go to one of the night-and-weekend clinics since she refused to try to diagnose a rash over the phone. I quickly learned that the Minute Clinic nurses at CVS are not allowed to prescribe steroids for potential allergic reactions and was sent to a clinic on Rockville Pike, which did a good job getting me in quickly and getting me both prednisone and anti-itch advice, which was what my doctor had said sounded appropriate over the phone. But my neck is still red and it still itches a lot and I am still very cranky.

I was at least able to watch the first episode of the Eleventh Doctor, which I really enjoyed in some ways and really made me roll my eyes in others. That was pretty much my reaction to the first couple of Tennant episodes after I loved Eccleston so much, so I am cautiously hopeful though not in love (and if I were going to be in love it would be with Amy, not the Doctor, despite -- spoilers -- the short short skirt and kisses for sale and wedding night (naturally it was her wedding night, not the night before she graduated from college or got promoted to supervisor or anything like that). I do like the new Mickey, at least.

But the Doctor is still in Jesus mode -- now he comes when prayed for? Ugh -- and most of the moments that really cracked me up, the "Tiggers don't like bacon" routine and wibbly wobbly timey wimey and "Get a girlfriend, Jeff," I could totally hear in Tennant's voice. And there's already a Portentious Prophecy. I have no idea what will be original or engaging about this one yet. After it ended, we rewatched the "Silence in the Library" two-parter, which I really appreciated much more this time around; I still think that Donna got the short shrift and really all the women deserved better, but that's been true throughout the franchise and I'm still watching.

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