Monday Morning Musings:
Come, May
“as if what exists, exists
so that it can be lost
and become precious.”
–from Lisel Mueller, “Immortality
No longer silent, mornings drip with song.
With blue-eyed pretense, April denies
her duplicity, dances in swirled pink song
to cartwheel upside down,
now gone the sandals, back the blankets
and the fleece.
The world is salad greens and dirty dishwater,
rinse and rinse and rinse
that bit of sherbet from the sky.
It is cat-cuddles and wine,
hot soup, bread, and cheese,
turn the heat back up, watch
the water rise.
But, come May
dawn’s fresh-washed from April showers,
with popcorn clouds coated in buttered glow
and fallen pale pink lipstick blooms give way
to smiles of brighter hues.
Now maidens dance and workers march
as birds wing from shaded boughs
to chitter-whoosh-out of sight.
Proud parents strut with baby chicks,
yet the furious river cries, and
we watch from the precipice
where the picayune and the profound meet
like stars and gas in scattered nebulae,
while below are worlds ephemeral and distinct
in puddles that flame with life and light.
Happy May Day! I used some of Kerfe’s Oracle 2 words for this.
It rained off and on for the past several days with heavy rain most of the weekend and a flood watch in effect. We visited Blue Cork Winery in Williamstown, NJ, on Thursday night, where we attended a party for members with our daughter and son-in-law. We had free tastings and food, and my husband saw a rainbow. We had our own wine and cheese tasting over the weekend as the rain lashed against the windows.
We watched The Diplomat (Netflix). Our older child and their wife recently watched The Americans, one of my all-time favorite TV series. Then I listened to an interview with Keri Russell on Fresh Air, so I was excited to see her in The Diplomat. I was not disappointed. She and Rufus Sewell are excellent, but so is the entire cast. Each episode ends in a cliff-hanger, or at least a –“wait, what?” moment—including the final episode. I certainly hope there will be a second season.
I loved seeing our current president embrace “Dark Brandon.” Today’s (actually last night’s) Letter from an American by Heather Cox Richardson gave a brief summary of the White House Press Office and conferences. I don’t know why no one is bringing up the twice-impeached-lying-insurrection-fomenting-former occupant of the White House’s age. He’s only a few years younger than Biden, but he certainly seems less fit, both physically and mentally. The former president did not attend the White House Correspondents Dinners during his term, and he refused to let his staff attend.
Yesterday and today: Merril's historical musings 
Just beautiful….made my day
Wow–your comment made mine!
Wonderful descriptions of the changing months’ weathers. “fallen pale pink lipstick blooms” – are these camellias?
Thank you very much, Derrick.
They can be whatever you want them to be.😊
I just knew that would be your apt metaphoric response 🙂
I’m happy not to disappoint, Derrick. 😉
Such beautiful imagery this morning.
Thank you very much!
You’re welcome
Lovely pics, Merril! May is usually very hot here but today it rained and I can’t remember a cooler start to May ever! Love ‘mornings drip with song’, ‘cat-cuddles’ and ‘popcorn clouds’!
Always enjoy your Monday musings. 💙
Thank you so much, Punam! 💙
I especially like this:
“we watch from the precipice
where the picayune and the profound meet
like stars and gas in scattered nebulae,
while below are worlds ephemeral and distinct
in puddles that flame with life and light.”
Thank you so much, Ken. 😀
Those first stanzas are more intense, more poetic than your usual musings, that are lighter, more photographic maybe. I like the difference. Maybe the effect of the Oracle’s words. I recognised picayune, a word I don’t know.
Thank you!
That’s interesting about the difference you see. It probably was the Oracle. 😊
I wonder.
🙂
Gorgeous, Merrril!
Thank you, Jill!
That sherbet sky is luscious.
Trump seems to have some protective cocoon around him that keeps people from seeing who and what he really is. It’s mind-boggling.
Just the fact that Biden has a sense of humor would make him superior in my book. He’s a real person, not a construct. (K)
Thank you!
I think you’re right, and I agree!
Your musings capture the difference between April and May perfectly! As for he shall not be named, I hope he gets his inevitable comeuppance sooner rather later before he does any more damage to this country.
Thank you so much, Liz.
I hope so, too!!!
You’re welcome, Merril.
This was perfection, Merril! April did bring every possible iteration of new spring, didn’t it? Let us hope that May has more heat (though the forecasts are not great).
The Diplomat is next on our list!
Thank you very much, Dale. It’s still cool for May here, too. I hope it doesn’t suddenly go to hot and humid summer weather!
I hope you enjoy The Diplomat. We went through it very quickly. 🙂
Yeah. We usually get a crazy hot week in May (where you’re super happy you have opened your pool) and then we get a reality check and a crappy beginning of June.
I’m sure I will 🙂
🙂
Beautiful Merril, May has come alive in your words and the air is filled with birdsong. 🍃🌼🍃
Thank you so much, Rene! 💙
Welcome dear Merril
😊
That first photo took my breath away! And, as always, I enjoyed your poetic musings 🙂
We watched Roy Wood, Jr’s opening at the WH Correspondents Dinner. He was funny and there was so much truth running through his humor. I was blown away when he claimed that before Kamala Harris became VP, no one ever asked what the VP does. Per Wood, they ask that question now because Harris is a woman, but also (in my opinion) because she is a woman of color. She’s automatically seen as less capable because she is not a white man.
I applauded him for raising that issue but I wish he had gone a bit deeper. Harris has been busy but the media (the very correspondents at that dinner) hardly bother to cover her work. I wish he had taken them to task for that.
We didn’t watch Biden’s act, but The Guardian had a nice write-up of his jokes and statements. Damn, he’s hilarious 🙂 Not only did he have some zingers about the Republications, but he showed that he could laugh about himself too. I used to be worried about his age because he seems more physically frail since his son Beau died. But, gosh, he’s sharper than the sharpest Republican in Congress … which actually isn’t saying much … lol. No, he’s really sharp, and he’s a “known entity” to many world leaders given his years as Senator and then VP. I swear there was a global sigh of relief when he was elected President. I look forward to voting for him again. While I think there are a few relatively younger Democrats out there that would make a good president, I want Biden to finish what he started 🙂
Thank you very much, Marie.
It’s wonderful that you were so affected by my photo.
I saw some clips from the dinner. I agree about Harris. I heard someone on–All Things Considered (I think) talk about Harris and Biden’s reelection announcement. They were saying how much she helped with the mid-term elections by going out to college campuses post Dodd decision. I don’t see any Democratic potentials right now who can step up and take control of the party other than Biden.
I agree 🙂
Beautiful words and imagery, Merril. I enjoyed the way Biden embraced Dark Brandon, too. It gives him the power of it, rather than the other way around.
Thank you, Robin.
Yes, I agree.
Happy May, Merril! Gorgeous shot to go with your cool musings, your ode of sorts.
I had to google “new odes”. Seems like odes are a slighted form of poetry.
Perhaps no one mentions the twice-impeached-lying-insurrection-fomenting-former occupant of the White House’s age, because he’s so ugly inside and out that if one mentions his name, age or anything; one is doomed to spontaneously combust.
Thank you for reading, Resa!
If only that were true about the former guy.