Red Umbrella
From 3rd House Journal, July 25, 2005
Bright spot of shade
sanguine against the blue -
What does it hide?
My mother licks her dripping cone
blissfully oblivious.
Soon she’ll be whisked
from her beloved shores
carried away
as under a red balloon
kicking wildly, angry as Mars.
Meanwhile I veil myself
in vacant smiles
hold my breath, submersed
in blue, cold as Sedna
beneath an upended
red canoe.
by Leslee
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Categories: Greatest Blog Hits
Leslee — I somehow missed this first time round.
I love it — so many red echoes.
I do remember this well, and how much I liked it first time around, and am happy to read it again. So simple-seeming, but I can read it over and over, being drawn to something different each time. And each time, of course, the image of angry, kicking legs disrupts uncomfortably, whilst still playfully evoking kids playing on the beach.
Excellent – powerful & evocative.
Thanks, Pica, Jean and Dick! Ai, I remember this viscerally and the ripples still go forward. Sigh. I hope after I move I’ll have more time to write again (2 hours *not* commuting!).
Beautiful! Congratulations!