Irene Latham's Blog, page 43

The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: KNIFE

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above. This month's prompts include: hospital, hotel, humming, ice-skating, illness, kitchen table, knife, laundry, library, lunch.

Ken Dykes, Sr.
KNIFE
My father loved a good medium rare steak, so what comes to mind is a steak knife – and the many times I accompanied my father to a restaurant where he ordered steak. One of my favorite memories is when my father asked for ketchup, and the server admonished him with something like, “our steaks are so good, you don't need to ruin them with ketchup.” My father fired right up – a person should be able to enjoy a steak however he or she likes! What he said to me after the server was gone was this: “Doesn't he know sometimes I order steak just to eat ketchup?” :)
Another knife memory: at least twice, I think probably three times, I've had my handy red Swiss army knife confiscated at airport security. It's such a tiny thing, and I keep it for all the other instruments (scissors!) more than the blade. Oh, it hurts every time to have this taken from me! These days I've taken to carrying a small pair of scissors, since I am so bad to forget I have my little knife on me... I'm tired of buying new ones!

Remember you are this universe (celebrating U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo)

<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dmhgtg8Xza..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="331" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dmhgtg8Xza..." width="212" /></a></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! And... Happy SUMMER! Be sure to visit Linda at <a href="https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.bl... Word Edgewise</a> for Roundup.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So, I've been out adventuring and not here at my desk... hubby and I traveled to California, where we played on the Pacific shore, watched the <a href="https://www.pebblebeach.com/events/20.... Open at Pebble Beach</a>, and eventually made our way to <a href="https://www.nps.gov/yose/index.htm&qu... National Park.</a> More on this later... we're still recovering! </span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today I just wanted to pop in and share my delight upon hearing <a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet... Harjo</a>, member of the Mvskoke Creek Nation* named as the first ever Native American U.S. Poet Laureate! So many of her poems speak to me, and a few years ago I got to know her in a different way through her memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Crazy-Brave-Me... BRAVE.</a> Be sure to read it, if you haven't already. And here is a favorite favorite poem, that definitely goes on the "<a href="https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/p/ho... to Live Your Poem</a>" list.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><br /></b></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Remember</b></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>by Joy Harjo</i></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember the sky that you were born under,</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">know each of the star's stories.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember the moon, know who she is.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember the sun's birth at dawn, that is the </span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">strongest point of time. Remember sundown</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">and the giving away to night.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember your birth, how your mother struggled</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">to give you form and breath. You are evidence of</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">her life, and her mother's and hers.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember your father. He is your life, also.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember the earth whose skin you are:</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">brown earth, we are earth.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember the plants, trees, animal life who all have their</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">tribes, their families, their histories, too. Talk to them,</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">listen to them. They are alive poems.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember the wind. Remember her voice. She knows the</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">origin of this universe.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember you are all people and all people</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">are you.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember you are this universe and this</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">universe is you.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember all is in motion, is growing, is you.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember language comes from this.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember the dance language is, that life is.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Remember.</span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">(published in SHE HAD SOME HORSES, W.W. Norton & Co., 1983)</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ft6Ab0U5t..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ft6Ab0U5t..." width="300" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...remember snowmelt -- like poetry --<br /> is a powerful, beautiful thing!</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0in;">*I added this after reading <a href="https://readingyear.blogspot.com/2019... Lee's post. </a>I have much to learn. Thank you, Mary Lee!</div><br />

5 For Poetry Friday

Hello and Happy Poetry Friday! Be sure to visit Laura Shovan for Roundup.

1. I'm working on a picture book manuscript that *might* be inspired by my nephew Matt's cockatiel named Frosty. Newsflash: Frosty has a foot fetish!

2. Earlier this month I blogged over at Smack Dab in the Middle about What I Learned from My First Completed Middle Grade Manuscript.

3. I can't stop thinking about this blog post: Reinventing Myself as a Writer and the Power of Narrative by Amy Rasmussen (contains a writing prompt I am excited to try!)


4. Here's the Rosie Report: baby girl put on her life jacket for the first time the other day! We didn't put her in the water quite yet... just let her hang out on the dock while we swam. Next time she's going in!


5. Earlier this week I had a lovely visit at Autauga-Prattville Public Library in Prattville, Alabama. One young reader/writer had a book recommendation for me. I love when that happens!

CHARMED by Jen Calonita... and... bonus! Here's the June 14 poem in SING A SONG OF SEASONS: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year illustrated by Frann Preston-Gannon, selected by Fiona Waters.

Mr. Snail

Quaint and quirky, never quick,
Mother Nature's glue-stick,
Hard shell, tacky tail,
Glue the garden,  Mr. Snail.

- Celia Warren

The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: KITCHEN TABLE

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?


For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above. This month's prompts include: hospital, hotel, humming, ice-skating, illness, kitchen table, knife, laundry, library, lunch.
KITCHEN TABLE
For some thoughts and a couple of poems, see this post.

My 2019 Summer Reading Project

Each summer I choose a retro-reading project. One year it was all Newbery winners. Another, the Harry Potter series. This year I've decided to read The Complete Collection of Maguerite Henry books. Read the post in which I made this decision.

All these years I've been giving presentations, telling readers how I loved the Black Stallion books and any horse books... and I just recently realized many of those books were written by Marguerite Henry! It just never occurred to me, I think, because when I was a young reader, the author very seldom entered my head. It was as if the author didn't exist. The books were MINE, ALL MINE!

Maybe other readers feel this way, too. Maybe I didn't see authors as people, because I never met one. Maybe this is one of the gifts of a book -- how it can transport a reader so completely that it exists for that reader alone.

Whatever the reason, I am super excited to re-read the Misty books and read for the first time quite a few others. There are 16 titles in this set. I'm excited! Reminds me of my 2015 trip to Chincoteague and Assateague... what horse-y trip will I take next? Hmmm...

The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: ILLNESS

<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGREmRgn70..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGREmRgn70..." width="213" /></a></div>For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Hour... BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.</a></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on <a href="https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/p/th... Butterfly Hours</a> tab above. This month's prompts include: <i>hospital, hotel, humming, ice-skating, illness, kitchen table, knife, laundry, library, lunch.</i></span></span></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>ILLNESS</b></span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">My childhood was greatly affected by the family disease of addiction and its faithful companion, depression. </span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">I could fill reams with stories related to this topic. But that would mean telling potentially hurtful stories about my family members, and I'm not willing to do that at this time. </span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">Also, it's simply too BIG a thing for me to address in a blog post – someday, perhaps, I'll write a book with these themes. But for now it is not a place I choose to dwell. </span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">However, should anyone reading this have similar experiences and want to talk, you can reach me by email: irene (at) irenelatham (dot) com. </span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";">And, here are a couple of great/honest books on the topic:</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RLmlT2ooIx..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="332" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RLmlT2ooIx..." width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sunny-Side-Up-... Side Up by Jennifer Holm</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bqx0rB-MlF..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="499" data-original-width="353" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Bqx0rB-MlF..." width="226" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Kiddo-National..., Kiddo by Jarret Krosoczka</a></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><br /></span></div><br />

The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: ICE SKATING

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above. This month's prompts include: hospital, hotel, humming, ice-skating, illness, kitchen table, knife, laundry, library, lunch.


ICE SKATING
I, TONYA - if you
haven't seen
this movie, you
should remedy that!I can only recall ever ice skating once – at Pelham (indoor) Ice Rink when I was in high school. I loved the romance of ice skating, the beauty of the sport, and how we'd follow the Olympic figure skaters (Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan, anyone?). It was fun to wear a sweater in summer and lace into white skate with shiny blades. I thought it would be like roller skating, and I guess it was, a little. I wasn't on the ice long enough to get comfortable – my ankles kept collapsing in my skates, and I retreated to the sidelines... maybe memories of broken bones make me give it up, I'm not sure. I've later learned from skater-writer friend Anita Saxena that the ankle-thing is a common experience among non-skaters in rented skates, and that I might have better luck in some quality skates. Maybe someday I'll give it a whirl. But right now I am content to watch others. (This totally deserves a poem... marking this in my notebook to do later!)

On Connection and the Spiritual Journey

Hello and welcome to this month's installment of Spiritual Journey Thursday, in which Ramona is rounding us up at Pleasures from the Page, on the topic of "connection."


When I think of my spiritual journey, this is what defines it: connection. Connection to something greater than myself -- to nature, to community, to a higher power.

I know I am not in charge. I don't call the shots. Yes, I make choices and decisions all the time, every day. But ultimately I am not in control. 

I am especially not in control of people, places, or things.

What a relief to hand that over to someone or something else! I can rest in that connection. I can feel loved and cared for. I can trust that everything will be okay -- because, isn't it? Even when the worst thing that can possibly happen to me HAS happened to me, I've been okay. I'm still here. And what is life, if it doesn't sometimes bring you to your knees?

This is one of my 2019 daily readers.What helps me feel connected is daily readings, meditation, prayer, quiet time, sitting-and-watching-the-lake time, holding-hands time, long-walks time.

I also feel particularly connected when I am creating something or learning something new. Maybe this is music or art or writing. I've long considered writing a spiritual practice. And also whenever I allow myself to be vulnerable with others, or when I am engaged in service to others. That's what "connection" means to me.

Thank you, Ramona, for allowing me this opportunity to ramble -- and to connect with this lovely community. And thank YOU for reading. xo

The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: HUMMING

<!-- @page { margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } </style> <br />--> <div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGREmRgn70..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="231" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SGREmRgn70..." width="213" /></a></div>For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Butterfly-Hour... BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;">For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on <a href="https://irenelatham.blogspot.com/p/th... Butterfly Hours</a> tab above. This month's prompts include: <i>hospital, hotel, humming, ice-skating, illness, kitchen table, knife, laundry, library, lunch.</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.08in;"></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">HUMMING</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Sound of Summer is a Hum</b></span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">It starts with Mama</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">at her sewing machine,</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">stitching seams</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">in summer dresses</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">for Ms. Judy</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">moves to the library's </span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">florescent overhead</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">lights as I sit</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">on the ABC rug,</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">reading about horses</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">slips past the door</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">from the driveway</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">as my brothers</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">circle the go-kart</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">again and again,</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">wheels spinning</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">Gulf coast sugar-sand</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">before settling</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">in Granddaddy's garden </span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">where bees swarm</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">the tomato blossoms</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">and corn fattens </span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">inside the shuck,</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">green green green</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">until finally – soon! –</span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">yellow-kerneled ears</span></span></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;">pop out to say,</span></span></span></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0in;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>hello, June!</i></span></span></span><br /><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><br /></i></span></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "roboto" , "arial";"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>- Irene Latham</i></span></span></span></div><br />

The Butterfly Hours Memoir Project: HOTEL

For 2019 I'm running a year-long series on my blog in which I share my responses to the writing assignment prompts found in THE BUTTERLY HOURS by Patty Dann.
I welcome you to join me, if you like! I've divided the prompts by month, and the plan is to respond to 3 (or so) a week. For some of these I may write poems, for others prose. The important thing is to mine my memory. Who knows where this exploration will lead?
For links to the prompts I've written on so far this year, please click on The Butterfly Hours tab above. This month's prompts include: hospital, hotel, humming, ice-skating, illness, kitchen table, knife, laundry, library, lunch.
HOTEL

When our family first moved to Birmingham, I was entering the 9thgrade. Finding a suitable (large enough, affordable) house was always a challenge for our large (7 person) family, and while we did find a home, we weren't able to close the deal and move in before my father was to start his new job and the new school year was to begin. So we moved into a room at Motel Birmingham (or was it Birmingham Motel? It's been sold, remodeled, etc. several times, and it's got a different name now...), located in Irondale with 2 

Himalayan kittensHimalayan cats and a litter of kittens. Two beds and one bathroom for seven people! I don't remember what we ate or who slept on the floor. (Probably the girls got the bed, and the boys got the floor.) I do remember how homesick I was for my old friends, my old school. I didn't know anyone except my siblings. My mom drove us to school in Trussville, dropped us off at the various buildings, and that was that. It was a tough week. We're a family of introverts who needed our space AND it was such a huge transition... the kittens helped.