Cold and Air Bubbles

A Cold Walk

There is only a thin crust of ice on the puddles
still crisp and rippling underneath
when pressed on, and the grass stems poking
through, like straws letting in the air
are weak points from which cracks radiate
as my foot forces water out around the edges
and bubbles skirt along the underside.

Eventually one foot sinks through.
Nothing that delicate can hold for long
under the constant pressure,
and water wells up out of the hole,
its release a relief
like a secret you knew you couldn't keep
but were waiting for the right time to share.

Poem:
It's Friday, which means I'm supposed to be expanding my style by encountering the work of other authors. Up for today's consideration is the work of Ted Kooser. If you haven't heard of him, you should look him up. I particularly like the style he uses in poems like "Mourners."

Mourners

After the funeral the mourners gather
under the rustling churchyard maples
and talk softly, like clusters of leaves.
White shirt cuffs and collars flash in the shade:
highlights on deep green water.
They came this afternoon to say goodbye,
but now they keep saying hello and hello,
peering into each other's faces,
slow to let go of each other's hands.

Ted Kooser
Delights and Shadows
Copper Canyon Press (c) 2004

I'm not sure it's legal to put this on my blog, but I don't think people should be mad at me for spreading good poetry. If anything, this should be incentive for you to buy the book if you like it. He didn't get to be Poet Laureate without knowing how to write poetry, after all. If I get yelled at, I'll take it down.

Observation:
I turned the heat down at my apartment yesterday after looking at my gas bill. Not that it was horrendous or anything, but it was about double what it was at this time last year, which drew my attention to the fact that I'm living less frugally than I used to. My bedroom is still quite warm though. The two televisions, the computer, and my almost constant body heat make it easily five to ten degrees warmer than the rest of the place. It's a bit inconvenient, though, since I like the air outside of my blankets to be cold when I fall asleep. That's the only time though. And if I turn the heat down to the point where my room is the right temperature for falling asleep, there's absolutely no way the rest of the apartment will be bearable. I guess this makes a good argument for having separate rooms for my technology and my sleeping quarters. Or maybe it's an argument for a one-room dwelling, so I wouldn't have to worry about the rest of the place being cold. Sounds like I'm destined for a trailer park.

Exercise:
"Lulu & Sandra Make Salad"
Lulu and Sandra are sisters. Lulu is jealous of Sandra. Sandra thinks Lulu is bossy. They are in Lulu's kitchen preparing a salad. Write the scene with dialogue.

Sandra wasn't sure the salad ingredients required quite as much attention as Lulu was giving them. She was sure that there must be something else Lulu could do other than look over her shoulder.
"Now, I know you probably don't do this much at home, what with having your own maid and all, but it's important not to cut the peppers too small. People like a bit of a crunch to their peppers, I've found."
"Okay, Lulu; I've got it. Isn't there something else you could be doing?" Sandra's grip on the knife was growing decidedly less relaxed, and her motions became more deliberate with her sister's criticism. Lulu was reveling in the fact she was finally the one in charge. Normally these dinners were held at Sandra's house, but Lulu had risen to the occasion after the recent fire.
"I suppose I could find something," Lulu said. She didn't move. If anything, she hovered closer.
"Well?" Sandra turned, knife still in hand. "Why don't you do that?"

Me:
Last night there was an interesting phenomenon at the Australian Open, where there was an air bubble underneath the surface of the court. This air bubble stopped the ball from bouncing at all, which was sight I found completely astounding. I have decided my blog might be less boring if I add things like this for you to see for yourself.

So that was definitely something I had never seen or heard about before. The way the ball didn't even roll was just hilarious to me. Apparently they just wound up using a power drill and a hammer to get the air out and continued play.
In what is hopefully the last chapter in the saga of the deaf girl, she was back in class today. This might still be an indicator that she's secretly reading my blog and accepted my implied apology.
Also while I was on campus, I began to think today might be particularly cold, as four different people commented on my shorts. Two of them were exclamations made to friends that I overheard, and two people just directly informed me of the facts of my attire. Much to their surprise, I was already aware of what I was wearing. I do appreciate their good intentions though. If I had been wearing them by accident, I certainly would have been glad to have my attention drawn to that fact.