altars, altars everywhere

Momscookery

it may be a ceramic skillet
she keeps out
because she loves cooking
and she loves the way
food tastes when
cooked in this skillet.

it may be flowers she
picks from her yard
and arranges in a container
using the glass frog
she’s had all my life,
setting them on a tablecloth
she embroidered
as a young woman.

it may be four small, colorful glass ducks,
lined up on her desk,
replicas of the ducks at
the peabody in memphis, tennessee.

Souvenirs

it may be a poem i wrote her
so many years ago
to dress up some
crazy, inexpensive gift
i bought her,
and a postcard i sent her
from a trip we were on,
written, stamped, and mailed while she was
standing right beside me.
it may be a piece of granite
she decorated
at the quarry in
barre, vermont,
an impromptu side trip
on one of the best
trips we ever took
together,
and it may be
the inexpensive plaque
about family
i gave her
when we moved away
last march.

she calls them
“centerpieces”
or
“arrangements,”
my mother.

i call them
altars.

~~ :: ~~

10 Comments

  1. Mark

    This took my breath away, Jeanne.

    • Wholly Jeanne

      Thank you, Mark. So kind.

  2. ☆little light☆

    the sacred in every day..
    ~smile~
    You have a very groovy mama

    • whollyjeanne

      yes, yes i do. and very groovy friends, too. xo

  3. Roxanne

    Such a tender ode to motherhood, friendship and the small, fine things in life. 

    • whollyjeanne

      “tender ode” – i like that. thank you, sugar.

  4. Square-Peg Karen

    Wow! Just WOW!! And thank you, Jeanne, for sharing.

    • whollyjeanne

      you are welcome, sugar. xo

  5. Angela

    Ah, yes. Centerpieces. Arrangements. Altars. This blog. Creating beauty.

    • whollyjeanne

      your blog. all these altars springing up. beauty is everywhere. the trick is: we’re now giving it an extra nod of attention, and that makes all the difference. xo

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Hey, Sugar! I'm Jeanne Hewell-Chambers: writer ~ stitcher ~ storyteller ~ one-woman performer ~ creator & founder of The 70273 Project, and I'm mighty glad you're here. Make yourself at home, and if you have any questions, just holler.

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