Month: April 2021

Gator belongs to Dejah, and what that means

Dejah seems to love her new Gator, and it occurred to me that this is her first toy that is just for her.

All of her previous toys had to be shared with her older sister, Willow, who could be very possessive when she decided any new toy actually was hers. All of those other toys in the house must have a lingering scent of Willow The Best Dog There Is, who became Willow The Best Dog There Was almost a month ago now.

Now, with the presentation of Gator, Dejah knows unequivocally that we bought a toy for her, just for her. And in the first 24 hours since that presentation, she and the toy have been inseparable.

I think I understand this happiness: She knows at last that we love her and wish her happiness. All doubts are cast aside, and the connection is finally made.

Just write

It doesn’t have to be a poem.

It doesn’t have to be a song.

It doesn’t have to be anything,

not yet — just write.

Let loose the hounds of more!

Pour the words onto the page

in quantity, searching for quality,

diamonds in the rough — no, not even that,

just send the words — no, not even,

just pull the words from the ether

and thank the Muse,

just thank the Muse,

and run back to the well

for more

Time enough for your real job

“Come, child, there’s work to do, cease your playing now.”

“But Mah-ahm, this IS my work. A kid’s job is to run and jump and explore and dig and poke and all.”

“Time enough for your ‘real job’ after you finish your chores. You’re almost done anyway, aren’t you?”

“I guess.”

“Then finish up and you’ll have the rest of the day after that.”

“OH. kayyyy …”

He set down his instruments of play and trudged to the corner where his false job awaited, full of lights and humming thinking-machines and the other enemies of his nature.

The door closed.

He sat and looked around the room at the objects he saw every day but never saw. The baseball. The unmounted shelf propped against the wall. The books in their places. The old radio waiting to tell stories.

Outside, above, hundreds of birds tested the air currents and sang a symphony. A glow to the east made the daily promise of illumination. A cool breeze swept in from the lake. He shivered, but more from excitement than the cold — or was it with the peaceful joy of knowing he could be disconnected for most of this day? Mom was right: One more task for the glowing box, and then he’d be free for these hours.

He flipped a switch, shutting off his own flesh-and-blood mind to disappear into the false lights, but he kept his finger near the switch. The true world would be waiting for him.