Monday, August 31, 2009

Home















The raspberry canes are bowed from the weight of ripe fruit, some overripe, blooming with mold, but most of the fruit is good to eat. Of all berries, I love raspberries the most and the second crop of alpine strawberries that comes in the fall just before frost.

Usually it's confusing to come home after being away--Provincetown is another country--but not this time. It's brilliant and cool, and I have new books: "High Wind in Jamaica," "Children as Artists," which I bought for two dollars at the Provincetown Library book sale, and "A Rage for Rock Gardening," which I read about on Mark Doty's blog. All three are compact books that snug into one hand.

The once creaking, wobbling, sagging dining room chairs came back re-glued and reupholstered from Jose's shop. I don't hate the material I chose--a black and white Greek key design--and the job didn't break the bank. Last time we did it ourselves--too long ago to tell you. I don't like to number the years.

I've already taken a manuscript to the photocopier and made a meal with whatever was at hand: spaghetti with peas, Sicilian eggplant, handfuls of chopped parsley, and olive oil, raspberries for dessert. My fingers are still stained with berry juice.















3 comments:

  1. I wanted to post this earlier but your blog wouldn't admit me! I read High Wind in Jamaica when I was 9 for the first time (it's one of my every year reads), and while I missed a lot of the savage nuances of the story at that young age, I was enthralled. It was after that that I began my career as a pirate.

    xor

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  2. R: It's my first time reading "High Wind in Jamaica." Yours for pirates!

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  3. I just want to say that I deeply enjoyed every word, thought, image, taste, smell, and feel of this little post.

    Thank you for it.

    yrs-

    tearful

    ReplyDelete