Silence on Saturday Morning in Five Parts

1.

So early this silent Saturday morning frozen to the ground 

brilliant sun dares any of us 

to poke our noses outside 

to feel the cold 

that descends on us,

blocks our breath, 

rims our eyelids with frost.

Do we dare?

And why not?

~~~~~

2.

I actually just saw a jogger 

on a sidewalk too far away to see 

jogging for exercise? or 

running ahead of the cold? 

But in this country of winter living 

I witness skiing, sledding, snow shoeing - and jogging 

only shuddered at by 

those choosing warmer climes

as I sit in my warm kitchen

my cat curled up in his cosy chair

with the tick of the clock 

the hum and blast of the furnace 

my warm companions

If I am one to brave the outside

it will not be until this afternoon

when I have felt the warmth and safety of home

confident that I have soup hot and thick for my insides ~

blankets and fireplace (even if it is electric)

to replace the mind numbing, deadly, silent cold. 

~~~~~

3.

Silence only broken by the tick of the clock ~

words, frozen, break off on the page like snapping icicles

my hand hesitates ~

waiting for the next word ~

or thought 

to fall 

silently 

on the page

A writer’s block of ice flows 

in chunks through my veins

bumping up against the icy walls of my home.

'til the furnace comes on 

warming my insides and outsides

so my pen opens the door 

to all these wandering thoughts.

Keeping warm and creative 

a monumental task

yet the sun rises everyday as if there were no problems,

baring itself to the too cold, frigid, cloudless sky

burning with its own distant fire 

blessing us with its light

Silence on Saturday lets me think 

and work out my words and 

restore action to pen and paper

~~~~~

4.

Silence hung frozen in air so brittle

with cold that it catches in your throat

Rabbits vanish into hidden shelters ~

my cat? ~ not even a sniff at the back door

~~~~~

5.

Cars and trucks glitter with ice dust 

settled on them while they slept to

become as one with sidewalks and roads

until one brave soul bundled and swathed 

in heavy warm clothes steps into the frigid air

work beckoning ~ bravery tweaked by need ~

the paycheque pushes people into the ice air ~ 

or has there been a family emergency?

Awake and warmed

each car that passes

a nucleus of warm insides ~ 

as long as heaters are working ~

batteries dead or dying 

only freeze a vehicle to the ground 

until neighbours help neighbours 

with the winter of cold and frozen.

“Does not everything depend on our interpretation of the silence around us?”

~ Lawrence Durrell, Justine

Book Review: The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner

The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner was a delightful read. The first descriptors that come to mind are mystery and romance. That is far too easy, much like Natalie Jenner’s lovely novel. The first chapter opens in 1932 outside the village of Chawton, England. A fictional cast of characters takes over for the remainder of the novel from 1943 to 1946. As the story develops, they found a common goal. That goal? To revive and restore Jane Austen’s presence and her many literary works within the village where she had lived, something not favourable to all villagers. An unlikely lot of characters - the village doctor, a teacher, a bachelor farmer, a distant relative of Jane Austen’s, and a house maid are at the core. Money is needed. Then there is the problem of a will. As in any village or small town, they all know of each other, but have kept themselves to themselves, each having experienced their own sadness and losses. There is history of past failed romances that have been buried. New ones that blossom. A fairly predictable story, but just when I had it figured out, things curved in a different direction. Throughout the novel, Natalie Jenner leads the reader skillfully through this charming story. 

Last night’s book club discussion provided mixed reviews. Always interesting to me, are the many and varied perceptions whether a work of fiction, history or autobiography. In the middle of a cold February, this was a good read and an interesting discussion over Zoom. 

Although born in England, author Natalie Jenner immigrated to Canada at a very young age. She presently lives and writes in Oakville, Ontario with her family and her two rescue dogs .

“they were ironically the survivors, yet it was 

beyond him what they were all surviving for.”

 ~ Natalie Jenner, The Jane Austen Society.

Author: Natalie Jenner

Copyright: 2020

Publisher: St. Martin’s Press

Type: Novel

Format: Fiction

ISBN - 978-1-250-248732 (Hardcover)

ISBN - 978-1-250-272188 (International, Sold outside of the U.S.)

ISBN - 978-1-250-248725 (ebook)

Storybooks

Travel without a mask:

imagination along for the ride

through a long heavy tome

or just a few pages of poetry

about the comforts of home or 

far away places with castles and mystery

driving a steam engine,

piloting the first airplane,

a rocket ship to the stars,

a pirate ship sailing the seas,

or a submarine to the bottom of the ocean

Storybooks ~

large or small

carry us away 

on thousands of magic carpets 

letting us land gently 

at the end of each story.

“So many books, so little time.”

~ Frank Zappa

Chapter Two, Episode Twenty - Sisters Again - Situationally Theirs

Review, Revision, Edit and Update

The most revision was done in the last section. Reading much of my writing, I see I am still writing very stilted sentences: telling rather than showing. That last section really needed more work. I could keep tinkering, but decided that would be enough,

Sisters Again

As Dez drove up the long gravelled driveway of the Beaufort Estate, she could see them. Her sister, Emelina and Jeremy Crawford on the front porch out of the cold winter rain. She gave two sharp toots of her horn and swung around to the back of the house. Shutting off the car, pulling up the hood of her rain jacket, she stepped out on the rain slick parking pad. Shivering, she ran up the steps to the back porch, just as the back door opened. “Dez! Come in the house. You’ll get soaked.” Em and Jeremy had come through the house to the back door. Opening the door wide, Em ushered her sister into the mudroom just off the kitchen. “Cook’s got coffee and soup on, Dez. It sure didn’t take you long to get here.”

“There wasn’t any traffic and I was so excited to see you both. Jeremy - there you are! You both look great. It must have been a great holiday. Let me hang up my coat so it doesn’t drip all over everything.”  Pandemic advice had discouraged hugging but a group hug ensued anyway. “We didn’t see anyone else while we were away………” Jeremy finished Emelina’s thought…..” And we’ve been on the road for about four days. Except for being on the ferry…….” Emelina continued….” We stayed in our car so we didn’t see anyone on the ferry.” 

Laughing, Dez held up her hands, palms out. “Whoa, you two! Are you an old married couple or what?”

“Sorry Dez. We’re just really happy and so glad to be home.” The couple leaned in to each other, smiling and contented. 

Cook set out soup bowls, cutlery and a plate of fresh scones. “Are you three coming to eat, or are you just going to stand there talking?” She smiled even though she sounded very stern. 

“Sorry, Cook. Come ladies. We don’t want to get the chef upset.” Jeremy held out bent elbows to the sisters. They accepted his gallant offer and walked the three steps to the long kitchen table. With a scraping of chairs, they sat, served up fresh soup from the big pot Cook set on the table. Delicious butter melted into still warm scones before being devoured. Silence, broken only by the click of spoons on pottery, hovered in the kitchen.

~~~~~

Jeremy wiped soup bowl clean with his last scone. “That was so good, Cook! Absolutely delicious. I’ll be out here a bit more often now, so I will become your official taste tester.”

“Oh, you will, will you? I didn’t know there was a vacancy for that position, Dr.” Cook chuckled. “I suppose if you’re living here…………”

“He won’t be living out here all the time, Cook.”  Emelina, clearing the table, added “And when he is, he’ll have to isolate upstairs. So, my dear Jeremy, any taste testing will be at the good graces of either Cook or myself. Who knows? We may not even feed you.”

“What’s this? You and Jeremy won’t be living together?” Dez had just assumed that Jeremy would be moving in out to the estate. When she thought about his job at the hospital, it was beginning to make sense. “No. As long as Jeremy is working on the Covid Unit, he’s decided to stay in his apartment for his shifts and come out on his days off. We talked about it on the way home.”

Dez smiled to herself, not wanting either Emelina or her new brother-in-law, to see the pleasure on her face at this news. Jeremy's job would prevent him from monopolizing Em's time! Dez and Emelina would have time to learn how their new lives would fit together. 

“In photographs of us together, she is always looking 

at the camera, and I am always looking at her.”

~ Jandy Nelson, The Sky is Everywhere

 

Wind Blown and Frozen

Winter wind grabbed snow from mid-air

and swept it up from the ground.

Brilliant sun glared so blue and bright,

sun-dogs were screened from view.

Chimneys exhaled into the icy air ~

exhaust flattened and lost steam. 

Cold seared my forehead

with winter’s branding iron.

Hot soup, warm blankets and a good book

revived my body, mind and spirit.

“The cold cut like a many bladed knife.”

~ Israel Zangwill, The Big Bow Mystery

Beauty

A rose after a rain

tells it’s own story

Silver raindrops mirror

worlds in miniature

Petals curl and stand tall ~

Cool and elegant.

“There is simply the rose; it is perfect 

in every moment of its existence.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Cat Tale - The Layabout

I had finished gathering and sorting all my laundry, not pleased with my new hire. I had hoped to have great conversations about world affairs or just the state of snow removal in the city. And of course, a reliable employee. Had my expectations of the young man been too great? When he initially came on the scene, we did have a couple of short interviews - that I didn’t know were interviews. I later learned I was the interviewee. I hired him some months later. He had seemed pleasant enough, even though he was quite young. He wasn’t one of those eager beaver types that want to get in your face whenever one sits down to read a book or finish up computer files and seemed quite quiet and polite. Previous employers seemed quite satisfied with his comportment although in retrospect I realized his employee status had been carefully avoided.  So when he was recommended to me, having lost his position in a very comfortable home, I decided it was time to hire some help. I admit this decision was partly selfish on my account as winter had set in with a vengeance. I could offer room and board, with a bit of light housework. I learned via the grapevine that he may have had to live shelter to shelter  - on the street and getting involved with all kinds of vicious characters. Within the first 24 hours in my home, that handsome young man that I thought was quiet and polite was bossy and noisy. He talked my ear off at that top of his lungs. Demanded that he have free range in the kitchen. That is as well as regular meals - that I had to make for him. If it hadn’t been blizzarding, I would have given him my old sleeping bag and opened the door. But I am too soft hearted. 

Over time, we came to an understanding about all the racket he was making. I’m a bit of a loner and cherish my peace and quiet. Slowly things settled into a comfortable routine. We respected each other’s space and had developed a cordial relationship. Until today. I had asked for help with gathering and sorting the laundry. Not a big job. I just wanted some company. He wandered around, sat on the window seat looking out at the world then seemed to have disappeared. Then I found him. Taking a nap. 

“A quick nap right now sounds really good.”

~ Fred Olsen Ray