Mum’s the Word

I guess this means to keep quiet. Since I turned 20, I've been unable to keep quiet. I read a lot and felt free to pass on the information to whomever would listen. My brother once called me a walking encyclopedia. But think of it, it's developmental right, to gather information. Look at the two year old saying, "What's that? That? That? That?"

That is broccoli raab, that is a zebra striped tomato, that is an Italian prune, that is yellow hammer dahlia, that is candy corn, that is a big boy tomato. Yes, we have names for everything, perhaps more than enough names for everything but love. Well I'm leaping here, and I know there is platonic love and motherly love, unconditional love, sibling love, but there have to be more nuances than this. Love for a friend, love for a pet, love for nature, love of work. Perhaps there are more names for love than I know, but still, not like snow in far north. I love this concept of having hundreds of names for something.

When it comes to soil there is clay soil and peaty soil, hardpan, rocky soil, humus, compost, worm castings—huh, I think I'm on to something here. There is sandy soil, mica soil, red soil, rich soil. I'll have to look into this further. Remember Forest Gump's friend going on about shrimp this and shrimp that. Funny. So my soil is used-up soil. I'm thinking of this as a metaphor for my life and what do we do when something is depleted? Fortify. Improve the diet, add the nutrients, let things rest. Today I need rest, but there is not rest for the wicked. Today Garrison Keillor will be in town with his new novel Liberty: A Lake Wobegon Novel

I have a ticket to the show. Actually, I have more than one ticket and my friends and I will be having dinner and then going to see him at the Western Washington University. One of my friends had a poem read on air by Garrison from her book Small Knots. Kelli Russell Agodon is a fabulous poet and friend and choose my art for the cover. The book is beautiful.

Okay, I have to get going here, cleaning, cooking, showering—and by the way, what are some of the words for love that you know? And soil? Pass them on.

Flower