Friday, May 23, 2008

The selkie watches for sails

i'm feeling sentimental tonight.
warm and cuddly even though alone.

the philosopher might have travelled down for the long weekend, but end of term for professors comes later than for students. i'm tempted to drive up, cane in hand, and wallop those tardy scholars who had the nerve to hand in their papers late.

BAD STUDENTS!
THWACK!!
THWACK!!!

but that's ok.
i'm not really angry.
i feel warm and cuddly and
flooded with sweetness
cradled in safety
secure in my bed with
Marko on my feet.

i'm feeling a little sad tonight.
we broke up last year
for the second time,
we almost lost it all at
the end of the term.
it was stupid, really,
sabotage by hormones and stress
and for some dumb reason
i got the urge to read it over tonight.

we rode it out.
we held on and made it through.
and in the end
everything changed.
we passed through the fire,
the fire and the ice
and on the other side
it was no longer a game.

i feel sentimental tonight
and warm and secure.
nothing scares me tonight.
i'm your selkie tonight.
i sweep the floor in our
cottage by the sea. i tend
the peat fire. the scent of
baking bread lures your
ship to shore as does the
memory of joy and
passion in my arms.

i am your selkie tonight.
and our cottage awaits your return.

4 comments:

Paul said...

O G, this again is beautiful, a vary precious gift.
I hope that you see your Professor soon.
Warm hugs,
Paul.

Ronjazz said...

Selkie...I've not heard that word in years! Lovely...:)

Anonymous said...

Making the decision to ride it out is sometimes the hardest part - after that the actual riding is easier, because the only direction to go is forward.

oatmeal girl said...

thank you, paul. as for the philosopher, i have hopes...

ron, i actually first heard about silkies as a teenager in a rather indirect way. there was an anti-bomb song that i knew was set to the music of a song called "The Great Silkie of Sule Skerry." at the time, i didn't really know the silkie song, but good little protester that i was, i sang "I come and stand at every door" as i played the guitar. you can read the lyrics here:

http://www.peteseeger.net/Icomeandstand.htm

z - as hard as holding on has sometimes been, i never had any doubts that i would ride it through. what we had seemed so magical, i could never imagine it ending.