For two long weeks, I was sidelined from my voice lessons by a persistent cough and cooties. I couldn’t wait to sing again! And so it was that, ack! I showed up on my teacher’s doorstep a whole two hours early.
If ever there’s a place to be with time on your hands, Laguna Beach is it. I hiked toward the beach, a few short blocks away, reveling in the cloak of quiet afforded by the salty morning mist.
Inspired by Candice Ransom's recent blog entries, I ducked inside an Assistance League thrift store. Baubles and Handbags Sale! the sign announced, but that's not what drew my eye. There, in unfamiliar surroundings and with unexpected time on my hands, I was reunited with a dear old friend.
And boom! I was 9 years old again, sprawled on the floor of our neighborhood bookmobile, flipping through its pages.
Bookmobile Images via ark.cdlib.org
I paid $1.50 for this pleasure, tax included.
As gentle waves lapped against the seashore, I reacquainted myself with the rhythms and rhymes between its covers. Some selections, if I’m remembering right, were instant favorites; others grew on me with time. I discovered some new friends, too, including a poem about hummingbirds, no surprise, and the last stanza of Song for A Blue Roadster…
Fly, Roadster, fly!
Leave Time behind;
Out of sight
Shall be out of mind.
Shine and Shadow
Blue sea, green bough,
Nothing is real
But Here and Now
~Rachel Field
…which is where I closed the book, leaving the rest for another Time.
The perfect day to find the perfect book!
Absolutely! I felt as if I’d stumbled upon a treasure.
Wow, you actually used a bookmobile! Our town had one, but we lived within walking distance of the library, so it didn’t feature in my childhood. How cool!
The poem you quote is glorious.
Yes, ’cause I’m an ancient artifact like that. 🙂
I love that poem. Note the roadster, which reminds me of Nancy Drew capers. And the references to traveling to and fro in time, as a memoirist is wont to do. Here’s the whole thing, in case you’re interested.
Song for a Blue Roadster
by Rachel Filed
Fly, Roadster, fly!
The sun is high,
Gold are the fields
We hurry by,
Green are the woods
As we slide through
Past harbor and headland,
Blue on blue.
Fly, Roadster, fly!
The hay smells sweet,
And the flowers are fringing
Each village street,
Where carts are blue
And barns are red,
And the road unwinds
Like a twist of thread.
Fly, Roadster, fly!
Leave Time behind;
Out of sight
Shall be out of mind.
Shine and shadow
Blue sea, green bough,
Nothing is real
But Here and Now.
So so much to smile at here. xo
So much fun to share with you…I’m smiling really big. 🙂 xo
I love that poem! Here’s a blue MGB to speed you along. 🙂
Awesome! You know how I love ridin’ in a roadster… You’ll join me, won’t you?
I always wished a bookmobile would show up in my town! How neat.
It’s a magic carpet, on wheels!
See? Sea?
Melodye, I read the piece of the poem you had on this entry, and was brought up short by one word in this line:
“Blue see, green bough,”
… and wondered if maybe it should be “sea”… or maybe there is some definition of “see” that I am not aware of, one which can be blue.
But with the magic of Google, I found this site:
http://dailypoemsandpaintings.blogspot.com/2010/10/road-trip.html
… which had the full poem, and it is in fact “sea”.
I’m kind of disappointed — I was hoping for a new word! — PL
Re: See? Sea?
What would we writers do without critique partners/editors? Fortunately, you’ve made this a rhetorical question. And thanks to you, that typo’s fixed! 🙂
(Good on you for believing there might be a pony in that pile!)
Re: See? Sea?
Melodye, I had also meant to mention that the very day you posted this blog entry, I went upstairs to Jeannine’s writing room (I think to bring her the latte — large, whole milk, no sugar — I had just gone out to get for her at Dunkin’ Donuts), and she had by her side an old children’s book of poetry, from her own childhood. Synchronicity! — PL
Re: See? Sea?
Awww, thanks for coming back to say that! I love the very thought.
(How sweet of you to deliver a special-order latte to Jeannine! You’re a good man, PL.)
Ohh, that sounds like so much fun. I’m glad you are able to enjoy voice lessons again! My son had a similar experience with pitching, where he had a sore tendon that required rest before he could pitch again. It’s amazing how much more you enjoy doing what you love when you’re forced to take a break from it for a bit.
That’s a very good way to look at it, Jeni! I was really frustrated with being sick, and for so long, but it feels so good to be singing again.
Oh, the illustrations are beautiful. I love when you find an old book and you can remember exactly where you read it..what was going on in your life at the time, etc. They are like your own personal time capsules.
They are like your own personal time capsules.
This. Exactly. A time capsule in which only the good stuff remains. 🙂