Happy Poetry Friday!

Thank you to Karen Edmisten* for hosting this week’s round up. Visit her blog for a poem by Wendell Berry that contains the line: I greet you at the beginning, for we are either beginning or we are dead. Wowza!

I have so missed everyone! I can’t wait to read about your most recent beginnings. Today, I just have a silly story.

We are wrapping up a kitchen remodel that has left me feeling discombobulated for the last several months. I failed to realize that the kitchen is the center of life in our house and how difficult it would be without it.

Several weeks back, we decided to move our old fridge out by ourselves. My husband, my son, and I thought this would be a piece of icebox cake! We backed the pickup truck to the front door, lined up boards and dollies, removed the refrigerator doors so that it would fit through our skinny doorframes, and pushed. This strategy worked surprisingly well. We made it out of the kitchen, through the dining room, through the living room, and out onto the front porch without incident.

As we inched the refrigerator up the planks into the back of the truck, it tipped barely a fraction of an inch. Suddenly, everything was off kilter and the refrigerator plummeted into the rhododendron. The three of us stared in disbelief. This debacle inspired this sketch and poem:

 

Steady Eddie, Refrigerator

Steady Eddie, let her ride –
sailing on her dolly-boat.
Swishing over carpet oceans,
luckily, she stays afloat.

Over thresholds, under doorways,
squeezing down the skinny hall,
navigating architecture –

unafraid of any squall.

The journey’s final leg arrives.
Up the ramp, we make an end-run.
Then a breeze sends us adrift –
we capsize in the rhododendron!

 

Admittedly, a few issues with that poem, but I had fun writing it, spur of the moment.

Here's a photo of the incident:

When all hope seemed lost, a jeep pulled up - as if it were already on its way to our house. A mother-son duo hopped out and took charge of this dire situation. A quick push-pull-lift and that fridge was loaded neatly into the back of the truck.

As quickly as they arrived, this dynamic duo leapt back into their jeep and drove off. I ran after them with fresh-baked focaccia, which they graciously accepted, then disappeared into the sunset.

In a world filled with chaos, this mother-son pair arrived, no-questions-asked, and saved the day. How can I not have a little faith in humanity after that?

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

22 comments

  • What a lighthearted poem about a frustrating moment. I love that you went with a spur of the moment write. Even after months of discombobulating work you’ve still got it, girl!
  • Oh no! Poor rhodoendron...did it survive? With what injuries? Maybe another poem from its perspective?? And I hear you on the kitchen discombobulation. Our dishwasher has been out, and I guess I didn't realize how convenient a dishwasher is. I must say, though, there is something so sweet about doing dishes with a loved one. Paul washes; I dry and put away. SWEET. Thanks for your fun poem. xo
    • Haha, that rhododendron is a rock. It was here when we moved into the house decades ago, and every few years, I hack it back. I am convinced that it can survive anything. It merely laughed and tossed the refrigerator back at us! To your point though, that plant probably would give me a stern lecture (and not for this incident alone) if it could speak! Yes, washing dishes together is therapeutic, isn't it?! Still, I am elated to have a dishwasher again!
  • What a great story -- mother and son rescue team arrived just in time. It does restore one's faith in humanity. Sorry for the mishap and discombobulation -- but you managed a delightful poem nevertheless. :)
  • What a great story (and poem and sketch), Tracey! I especially love hearing about the help you got from the mother and son team. Very heartwarming!
  • A unique experience well told and now forever captured in words, illustrations and photographs,Tracey. It was delightfully wrapped up with an appropriate happy ending. A slice of life story and a poem to give it permanence. 
  • Quite  the icebox adventure! I love seeing all the views  of it: the story in words, the  poem, the sketch,  the photo. It IS a silly  little story  but like all  unlikely  stories  there are layers of meaning to  explore! Thank  you for your comments on Kaveh Akbar's lecture--it was nice to enjoy enthusiasm over it with someone else.
  • Tracey, your tale of woe was turned into a tale of generosity. It is not often that a team comes to the rescue. l can imagine how thankfu; you were to have a superpower Mother and son to save the day after so much planning. Your poem has a seafaring flavor that explains the journey in detail. Sketching the ending that laid to rest was a good idea, especially since there was a happy ending. I did like the addition of the photograph that gave me a bird's eyeview but I am especially in awe of the duo that came to help. This is a story for you to remember.
  • Well I'm sorry about your capsized fridge, but what a fun poem came out of it, and hope in humanity too! That rhododendron rhyme is perfect! Happy new kitchen space, thanks Tracey!
     
  • Tracey, your story does restore my faith in humanity! 😊 ❤️ What a magical moment, right down to the fresh-baked focaccia! Thanks for taking us along on the adventure. It's a kitchen remodel you'll never forget, for so many reasons. I loved your spur-of-the-moment poem!

Leave your comment

In reply to Some User