Monday Morning Musings:
“A Light exists in spring
Not present on the year
At any other period
When March is scarcely here.”
—Emily Dickinson, “A Light exists in spring,”Full Text Here
In the between-time, dinosaurs dreamt,
their breathe swirled in the misty air
floating to mingle with ours
their feathers bright
with gaping jaws and thunder cries
amidst the fern-like leaves,
always summer
we dreamt their dreams
and they dreamt ours
warm blood flowing through our veins
(uniting heart and mind)
we sat on their backs as they flew
large wings outspread
feeling their power and grace
and they listened to our stories
of love
of kings and queens
raptors enraptured,
always summer in our dreams
But now
in this between-time of winter-spring
the flowers bloomed, they danced and sang
(we heard their songs)
then felt their pain
(tears fell from the sky)
as winter touched them with cold fingers
covering them in an icy blanket
yet the days grow lighter
brighter
and yet still whiter
In this between-time world,
this in-between season,
forces of good and evil fight
but most of us, dinosaurs and humans,
remain in-between,
compliant, complacent,
lost in dreams,
thinking of summer
This weekend, we ate Hamantaschen
(a lot of Hamantaschen),
we drank wine,
I read about Queen Esther,
who may or may not have existed,
(an in-between world)
she married King Ahasuerus
who ordered his first wife, Queen Vashti,
to stand naked before his male guests at a banquet,
displaying what he owned
(what he could touch with his small hands)
she refused,
and he banished her–
magnanimously did not executed her–
but made a new law—
men would have complete authority over their wives.
Esther, plucked from his harem,
became his new wife,
a new trophy.
This king ruled a vast empire,
but he was petty,
thin skinned
(orange tinted)
easily influenced,
as for Esther,
fourteen years old
did she have a choice?
She was Jewish,
a secret descendent of exiles,
in palace full of secrets and intrigue,
she and her uncle Mordecai foiled a plan to kill the king,
winning his trust,
but the eunuchs involved were killed,
collateral damage,
And Esther skillfully manipulated the king,
outwitted his prime minister Haman
(the evil man behind the throne
disseminator of alternative facts)
and prevented the mass slaughter of the Jews
(though they still had to fight)
She is honored now,
Haman is reviled,
but still I wonder,
she remained with the king,
bore him a son,
a woman caught between men,
and I wonder about her
what did she give up
what did she give in to
Credit Line: Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, “Esther before Ahasuerus, (1738-1740)
Purchased with funds contributed by the Women’s Committee of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in honor of their 100th anniversary, 1982
I wonder about being complicit,
collaborating with the enemy,
we watched a TV show about Earth after aliens have taken over
letting humans do the work of enforcing their decrees
those who work for the aliens get good homes and other perks
resisters are sent to work camps or to “the factory,”
from which they never return,
a spin on WWII and Nazi-occupied countries,
or any country under a dictator,
complicity
collaboration
(What would you do to save your family?)
though the air feels warm
sometimes, it’s always winter
But I know spring is coming
sense it from the light,
different from other times of the year,
brighter, losing the gloom of winter,
a signal,
a beacon of hope
I drink more wine,
eat some sweets,
ignore false honeyed words
take a break
deep breaths
relax
because
we value love
and art
and beauty
and joy
we tell stories
of dinosaurs and ghosts
of ancient worlds
and kings and queens
and believe in people
we hope, but resist
and do not become complacent
even as the days grow longer
and we are lulled by spring’s sweet siren song
and dream our dreams,
ours and the dinosaurs,
in the in-between time
My conceit about dreams mingling with that of dinosaurs was inspired by Kerfe and Jane’s discussion on this post.
The recipe for Shakshuka Hamantaschen can be found here on What Jew Wanna Eat. I used part whole wheat flour for the pita. The recipe for the Cannoli Hamantaschen can be found here.
We’re expecting a big snowstorm tomorrow. Sigh.
What a meaningful tribute to Esther and the feast of Purim here. Though you expose the dark you always suggested the light side full of art, love, joy.
Here is a website I sometimes visit: http://www.chabad.org/holidays/purim/default_cdo/jewish/purim.htm?gclid=CMT0heG809ICFcxkhgodMl8Lfg You may find some more enlightenment and recipes here for this holiday.
Yes, I know about Storm Stella. My sister and I are scheduled to fly from FL to PA on Wednesday afternoon. Fingers crossed . . . !
Thank you, Marian.
Yes, I’ve seen that site before. I usually have to look up information about Jewish holidays because my knowledge of them is not very complete. 🙂
I never really thought of Esther quite this way before.
Good luck with your flight. I imagine the airports will be open by Wednesday afternoon–though getting to and from them might not be so much fun. Good luck!
What a journey from Dinosaurs to Kingdoms and treachery and springtime on the bend. That made my lunch break under the Parisian spring sun so much better! Thank you
Awww–thank you for your very kind comment, Damien. A lunch break under the Parisian spring sun sounds delightful. I’m just having lunch now, bundled up in a hoody in my kitchen waiting for the snowstorm. 🙂
Stay indoors then! I’ll try blow some sunshine your way!!
Thanks so much! 🙂
Wow Merril, wonderful! So many tangents and yet they all are netted into unity. I’ve been thinking too about the compromises and choices we make, especially for our children, our families. How we justify them to ourselves. When do they cross the invisible line?
Anyway, one of your best. Dinosaurs and dreams and aliens and wives and kings and seasons and…somehow it all fits together. (K)
Thank you so much, Kerfe!
I didn’t think of it till after I posted this, but my girls used to have some little plastic dinosaurs that they played with, and for some reason, the dinosaurs were Jewish. It makes me laugh. Maybe my subconscious was making additional connections. 🙂
And why shouldn’t they be?
🙂
Such a lot to think about here. I’m glad you gave us a pastry break in the middle! Most bible stories are so awful, you wonder what kind of a god was giving the life style instructions. Any woman who survived with her skin and her sanity must have been extremely intelligent, wiley, or lucky. What a shame the men who manipulated them still seem to be around today.
Thanks, Jane. Sometimes one needs a pastry break. 🙂
Yes, I hadn’t thought about Esther in quite this way before. Or maybe something I read just struck me. Yes, I agree about the bible stories–gory and awful, meant for patriarchal, bloodthirsty people. And you are right about some of those same men still about.
Your musings certainly took in a wide sweep. I’m still stuck with the dreaming dinosaurs.
Yes, there’s something about those dreaming dinosaurs! 🙂
Our mid-seventies on Thursday was supposed to be followed by an inch or two of snow on Friday/Saturday, but we had just a dusting on Saturday morning. Our daffodils weren’t too happy, but they have rebounded. It makes me wonder how crops will be affected. I remember times in New York when even light snow would wreak havoc on fruit trees, so here’s hoping for the best.
I hadn’t thought about it before, but the wall around “Colony” now makes me wonder what is in store for us, these days.
We only got a bit of snow the other day. Everything was covered, but then it melted. The storm that’s coming tonight and tomorrow is supposed to be a major storm. I worry about the farmers and fruit trees, too.
I like “Colony,” but it makes me anxious, too. Yes, that wall–we will see.
I hope the weather “blows over.” Years ago I was going to write a musical about Queen Esther with a friend and never did 😒.
It’s certainly blowing! Not much snow, but we’ve got rain, sleet, and wind. YUCK!
Maybe the musical will still happen.
Daughter in NYC said that the blizzard didn’t really happen there–that it’s more of a normal bit of bad weather. That said, subway is shut down, etc.
Did they get ice? It’s icy here on top of snow.
She’s locked up in her apartment and only went out on the floor’s terrace, so I doubt she knows.
My daughter in Boston says they’ve lost power there. 😦
Boston usually seems to be the worst, doesn’t it?
She said the power’s back! 🙂
Ah, the little joys of life (which are truly the big ones haha).
🙂
Wonderful wisdom here, Merril. Dinosaurs, Esther, hamantaschen, and being complicit. I didn’t know the story of Esther and her predecessor, or about those delicious looking cakes. I hope the snow is not too cruel.
Thanks so much, Derrick.
We’ve got a nor’easter now, I guess. There’s rain, sleet, and wind on top of the inch of snow we had. I’m not sure now if we’re supposed to get more snow or not. I’d rather just have snow.
love this! especially your in-between times thinking – loved the enraptured raptors!
Thank you so much, Freya! 🙂
I feel bad for the flowers too. Love these lines: as winter touched them with cold fingers, covering them in an icy blanket…
Wonderful metaphor for so much in this poem and the times in which we live. Brava! Job well done!.
Thank you, Susan! I appreciate your kind comment. It is certainly icy today, isn’t it?
Yes, it is! But a good day for the writer, I suppose, since ice and frigid temperatures leave us housebound. I imagine you sitting at the table with your laptop in front of you and a big mug of coffee having already written more poetry.
It’s almost like you’ve seen that, Susan. Hahaha. Actually that was earlier. Now I’ve moved on to cooking a pot of borscht, drinking tea, and trying to write test items. 🙂
Between-time it is ….great way of describing this time ….
Thank you, Janice.
How fascinating, Merril! I loved the intermission between dinosaurs and orange thin skinned men — the pastry and wine looked sumptuous, by the way!
I do hope the human race doesn’t wither away like the dinosaurs. Absolutely brilliant writing — your imagination knows no bounds. xo
You are so sweet Rose. Thank you!
Yes, I hope we don’t disappear like the dinosaurs. There’s one thin-skinned orange-hued man who seems intent on hastening our extinction.
The Hamantaschen were delicious–we’re still eating them. 🙂
Have a wonderful St. Pat’s Day! Enjoy your delicious meals and desserts. Family means love and good food. ☘️💋
Enjoy your day, too. I think we may have Pakistani food for St. Pat’s day. 🙂
You are my food hero! Yummy.
Wow–I’ve never been a food hero. 🙂
😁
It was a beautiful mingling of “flavors” in the poetic descriptions, Merril. I loved your poem of light and spring’s beginnings, sprouts of hope.
I see the dinosaurs as part of original life forms, like our unblemished Earth was before climate change and pollution.
I am not going to become complacent nor be beaten by the platitudes and false smiles of the one who is misleading. Hurray for love of people, art, music and wine! ❤
Thank you, Robin, for your kind and upbeat comment. 🙂