Monday Morning Musings:
“It is just inevitable. The soul wanders in the dark, until it finds love. And so, wherever our love goes, there we find our soul.”
–Mary Zimmerman, Metamorphoses
And so, once again we’re in the ancient world.
This time, it’s Metamorphoses.
Another theater in Philadelphia,
A rippling pool
Aphrodite
Zeus
Orpheus
And Eurydice
The power of myths,
Stories,
Transformation,
And love.
The power of words
And art
Legends told and retold
For thousands of years
Gods
Who appear powerless
Are not
As long as they’re known.
They still influence us
Through the retelling
Of their tales.
For ninety minutes or so
We’re lost
In the magic of theater.
Carried along on a journey
By the actors
Whose words and movements
In and around that pool
Remind us of the strength of
Long ago myths
And their connection
To us now.
A special treat for subscribers.
The next day,
Across the river
And closer to home
We’re watching theater
Of another sort,
Revolutionary War Era soldiers.
It’s a reenactment,
Of course.
The day is brisk,
The leaves starting to turn
Red and gold.
A cannon booms,
A squirrel scurries up a tree
The child in front of me says
“The sound makes my chest hurt.”
But old bones
Shards of vessels
Long shattered
And old cannonballs
Lay in the ground beneath
Our feet
To remind us of lives
Gone.
The bits and pieces tell a tale.
The past buried
And unearthed.
Perhaps ghosts
Still wander here.
****
An hour later
We’re on to a wine festival.
My husband, daughter, and I.
Nectar of the gods.
We taste
And enjoy.
In truth,
We’re a bit buzzed
By the end.
But in vino veritas.
And though the stories
Of women,
The poor,
The servants,
And slaves
Are often forgotten
And left untold
I’m sworn to tell them.
But perhaps not just yet
After all
The wine.
Celebrating with Dionysus,
Clio will have to wait.
****
Across space and time
My mind wanders
Seeking a connecting thread.
From ancient Greeks
To the Quaker woman,
Centuries later who
Nursed the soldiers
Wounded in battle
At her farm.
She was a pacifist.
I imagine her criticizing voice
Grumbling at the soldiers
On both sides of the conflict.
“Is this the way to serve God?
The farmland destroyed
And young men killed,
Maimed,
And scarred.
And yet she tries to heal
Their bodies
Though their souls may
Be lost.
The cruel irony
Of war.
I stand in her garden.
Her house still there
Overlooking the river.
Her secrets long buried
Like the detritus of war
And household scraps.
All who truly
Knew her
Gone, too.
My words now
Scattered into the world
By way of devices
She could not imagine.
Perhaps in hundreds of years
Someone will read them
With some newer device.
Perhaps that person will wonder
About me,
A woman long dead,
Who thought about myths
And the power of love
Who enjoyed wine
And wrote about
Ordinary people
Who though no longer alive
Lived on
In her mind
Like reflections in a mirror
That stretch on
In a never ending line
Through time
And space.
Rippling figures
Words
And myths
Connecting past
And future.
Transformed.
Smoke and illusions–
British soldiers
at Red Bank Battlefield
Here are the places we visited this weekend.
And not to worry, son-in-law was our designated driver to and from the wine festival.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
A beautiful and powerful piece of prose/poetry Merril thank you. It is more poetry I think – writing poetically of times past and myth, with a gentle and light touch, while piercing at the same time. I am sure to re-read this post at some time. A thought: to put your writings in a collection? Invite submissions from some of your close friends? Or keep them exclusively yours …
Wow! Thank you so much, Susan. I have thought of doing some sort of collection. I’m not sure, but definitely something to think about!
I’m with Susan. Your Monday Morning Musings could become a collection of Weekend Wanderings, exclusively yours.
My favorite quote from Ovid: Fortune and love favor the brave.
And your love of history and literature always bubbles up here. Thank you for distilling it in poetry and prose – wonderful, as always.
Thank you, Marian. I always appreciate your kind and perceptive comments–usually with an additional quotation. 🙂 You and Susan are wonderful cheerleaders. Thanks so much!
Now that was a weekend fully lived, Merril. Thank you for sharing the disparate events with your poetic voice. Lovely!
Thank you so much, Mark. I appreciate your kind words. It was a fun weekend.
Their memories and legends will live on as long as folks like you tell their stories. Beautiful, Merril. You did weave a beautiful thread from the theater to the Revolutionary War and the Quaker woman who tried to heal their wounds … and, then, to the wine festival. It sounds like a wonderful weekend, my friend. 😉
Thanks so much, Judy! It was a wonderful weekend. We had a great time!
You weave from past to present so effortlessly. I love reading your Monday Morning musings and think a collection of them is a great idea and a driver to boot you have it made..ha ha 🙂
Hahaha. Thanks so much! I’m glad you enjoy my blog–and you are right about having the driver. We love and appreciate our son-in-law!
Despite the beauty of your words spilling out onto the screen to disseminate among us Merril, there is an underlying sadness. Perfectly understandable in view of the waste of lives which were re-enacted above the bones of those lost in conflict.
But then came a feeling of contentment as you sampled that which was once brought to you by the tramp of other feet, the lifeblood of Dionysus, Wine.
Thank heavens for designated sons-in-law.
xxx Massive Hugs xxx
Thank you, David. Yes, you understand exactly. I could go on with connections–because the play actually ended with love and made me feel so happy afterward, and my son-in-law, who is a treasure, is a veteran who has experienced the horror of war, but who then discovered the power of theater–and love. Hugs, back to you, as always!
xxx Hugs right back xxx
🙂
Merril — We’re definitely on the same page [clearly great minds think alike]…
🙂
Merril, once again I enjoyed your poetic prose and marvel at how much you squeezed into one weekend.
I have been thinking a lot about love this week as it was the finale of the Bachelorette. I swore I wasn’t going to watch it and get embroiled into it and like the Bachelor, thought it was going to be pathetic but I really came to like Sam, the Bachelorette and her choice Sasha. They were both incredibly genuine people and he’d really fallen for her but was holding back a bit because of the other guys and then he finally managed to tell her he loved her because he had to put in 120% or have regrets. I know I’ve seriously just undermined my credibility but it was beautiful to watch.
Anyway, had better get to bed soon. xx Rowena
Thanks so much, Rowena. I’m glad you enjoyed the post.
I remember you discussing the Bachelorette previously. I don’t watch it, but I’m glad you thought it was beautiful. Pleasant dreams!
What I found really interesting about the show was that she was always dressed very casually and mostly wore a jacket and pants and the pants even had a few holes in them, which I think is a bit trendy at the moment and I’m just getting old. It was very casual and many of the dates were outdoors and even doing extreme sports. It wasn’t plastic like I’d expected.
By the way, I picked up a gorgeous dress for my daughter from the op shop yesterday. It’s 100% silk and made out of a real icy pink with layers and layers of frills. She looks like she’s wearing a cupcake in a positive way. I only paid $5.00 for it! Also bought a few masks for halloween. It’s not a bit deal here but the kids will go trick-or-treating and Scouts is having a party.Hope you’re having a great day! xx Ro
The dress sounds great–and a bargain is always nice! Halloween is often a big deal around here. We won’t be doing anything–we might even go to the movies–but some people decorate their houses and go all out. I think my younger daughter and son-in-law might have costumes for their dog and cat. 🙂
Merril, I thought you might enjoy this post about Max the Dog getting dressed as a pinata for Halloween. It’s a great blog which explores the Hawaii landscape and history through Max’s travels. https://withinthekstreets.wordpress.com/2015/10/14/preview-of-coming-pinatas/ xx Rowena
Thanks for thinking of me, Rowena. I’ll check it out when I have a bit more time.
How nice to see the Arden Theater mentioned here, Merril. Woody and I have spent many a transported evening under that roof. I’ll echo what so many others ahve said here, these Monday Morning Musings are a delight. They tap into a part of my brain (the poetic part) that lies dormant far too much. thank you.
Thank you, Janet. I appreciate your very kind words!
We like the Arden, too, and we like having theater subscriptions because then we definitely go. 🙂
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