Unnatural World

[erica]

Today I pretended it was spring.
I breathed the memory of childhood
Through the open windows of our home
And lost myself in the breeze that embraced me.
I wonder if anyone else sees such beauty,
The sun shining on the dusty television screen
That I have kept turned off all day
Because it makes me feel restless,
The noise, the pictures.
Today I just wanted to feel alone.
Somehow nostalgia always manages
To make its way into my mind
And today I felt guilty for using electricity,
Running water, driving my car
Because I remember being a child,
Wishing our family was denied those things.
If my brother wasn’t watching TV,
If my mother wasn’t taking a 2-hour bath,
If my father wasn’t driving around,
Maybe we could discover each other
In a quiet house
And we could thank God for the breeze
Blowing the curtains up, hooking them on the rods,
So that we can see into the backyard.
I grew up in a house of strangers.
Simplicity could have made us closer,
We could have been dependent on conversation,
Costless entertainment,
Nothing with twisted wires or electrical plugs.
Today I pretended it was spring,
But it is only the last of summer.
Autumn is slowly making its way in,
And the World will be far too busy
To acknowledge it.

(I realize spring is here now, but this was written at the end of summer. :) )

[Michael]

erica, first of all, you’re right, today is the first day of spring, so let’s not rush off to autumn so quickly. Let’s enjoy spring while it’s here and then enjoy summer.

I do know what it’s like to feel alone within a family, though. I also think you’re right. If life was simpler, that paradox wouldn’t be so apt to exist.

Your title is very well thought out, although I guess there’s a difference between “natural” and “normal”. Unfortunately, what you lament is today’s “norm”.

The imagery in the second, third and fourth lines of “Unnatural World” is so well defined that I could feel the breeze as I read those lines.
Originally posted by erica
I breathed the memory of childhood
Through the open windows of our home
And lost myself in the breeze that embraced me.
It’s good to remind us of who we have in our lives as well as, or even instead of, what we have in our lives. Thank you for that.

[laleesh]

erica, we always seem to look forward to spring - fresh life, fresh growth, vitality, and fresh air, so to speak, a new scene. and some even save their loveliest springs in their mind and their notepad and look backward to them, as you have. this is a very wistful, nostalgic piece, and the dust on the television really brought that "home".

i enjoyed,
:)
laleesh