Small Talk

For the next couple of Sundays I will be in London, staying with my daughter and her family. Tomorrow we have tickets to see a Picasso Exhibition at the Tate. Standing among brilliant works of art frequently holds me tongue tied as do social gatherings where I'm lucky to know maybe one other person in the room.



Small Talk


And I rue
my Northern European reserve:

a Study in Black and White pinned
among an exuberance of Matisse

Wyeth's Helga surrounded by Warhol's,
Mao and Marilyn

a Vermeer
silenced by a three-eyed Picasso.

But how to reveal
my Miro
overpainted by forbearance?



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Delayed Departure

Winter has not lost its grip here in the north country. Today is Easter Sunday, and the current temperature sits at 12 degrees with a windchill hovering around zero. This year's Sunrise Services will not be for the faint of heart.



Delayed Departure


The vireos arrive as scheduled
but the frosty tenant refuses to vacate
despite a contract that states
"Checkout time: April."

Borealis holds the management
hostage with bursts of sleet,
arm wrestles the south wind
as the zephyr tries to eject him.

Tired of spring blunting his blows
he exits in a fit of royal pique,
swirling a brazen mantle of snow
like a visitor snubbed.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Deadfall

It is still winter up at the cabin. At least two feet of snow continues to cover the ground in the forest, and a smattering of the white stuff persists on the lake. However, a sun inching higher in the sky, and temps in the upper 20s made for great snow-shoeing both on the lake and in the woods.



Deadfall


An ancient pine slumps
against a neighbor
caught
as he fell in the wind and snow.

His outer bark
undone and curled back
like a long-coat shrugged off
in the final delirium of hypothermia.

Shoulder-to-shoulder
the companion
now improbably set
in a death tableau meant for one.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Vernal Equinox

Tuesday will mark the spring equinox, and the world is thawing. Banks of snow, some covered in road grime, others still pristine, slowly slip away. The lakes hold fast to their ice, but only a fool would venture onto them. It is the birds, more than anything, that confirm the coming of springtime.



Vernal Equinox


I crack a late winter window
        to hear the change of seasons
                    singing through the pines

Traveling troupes
                of warblers chasing
                                          longer days

Exuberant enough to nudge
                 even a curmudgeon's  
                           off-duty dancing feet.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Tools of the Trade

Yes, I am a day early with my blog, but I am leaving, shortly, for a Pediatric Conference in Arizona. Even though I am retired, I like to keep current with the latest medical information.

It helps that the meeting is held where flowers are in bloom, and, oh-by-the-way, where a sister of mine lives.



Tools of the Trade


Mickey Mouse waves
with each sweep of my watch.

A timepiece
that makes friends with toddlers,
acts as a monitor for hearts,
tests recall in head injuries,
tracks endless-seeming seizures,
counts the breaths of babies.

I find my double-bell stethoscope
almost as useful.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Cosmic Comedy

This past week saw record February snowfall here in the Twin Cities followed by a string of days in the mid-forty degree range. Tomorrow's forecast predicts another six inches of the white stuff just when you think Borealis has lost his grip.

Condo living removes some of winter's frustrations, but I clearly remember the angst of unexpected spring snowstorms even in the month of April.



Cosmic Comedy


I know I complained about the sullied bedrolls of snowbanks. And, yes, I whined about the archeological finds of cigarette butts and discarded styrofoam, emerging through winter's shrinking drifts. But why did you decide to listen to me this time, and try to make things nice? Sure, last night's whiteout hides the grime, and the heap of fresh snow balanced delicately on stilled branches is worthy of its front page photo. But after the last blizzard my right boot now leaks, my snake-bit car balks at the end of the drive, and six inches of cement-like moisture awaits my dented shovel, already claiming workman's comp. We are not amused.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

And So It Begins

This past week marked the anniversary of my father's death. Somehow it's easier and more satisfying to keep track of his birthdays, but both dates rekindle memories of one of my personal heroes.

Dad was a gentleman in every sense of the word, a man of integrity, and always very patient even through the difficult year at the end of his life. I miss him a lot.



And So It Begins


My father fell from his bed one night
or rather his legs buckled when he stood
intent on reaching the loo. Jarred awake,
my mother tried in vain to lift
his once solid frame now collapsed
like pick-up-sticks in a hotel room.
Unnerved, she called the front desk,
his left side limp as a floppy sail.
A CT scan leaked a secret they shared:
a series of minor strokes, traceable tremors,
preceding the earthquake.

My father fell from his bed one night
or rather his legs buckled when he stood
to find his way to the nearby commode.
In the urgency of a bladder taut
as a water balloon he forgot he couldn't walk.
The clamor caught the notice of the nurse
who neglected to secure his bed rails.
X-rays spoke of a broken hip, months of rehab.

My father fell from his bed one night
or rather his legs buckled when he stood,
attempting a routine bathroom run at home,
walker at the ready. Startled from sleep,
still powerless to shift her spouse's body
crumpled once more on the floor, my mother
reached for the phone, her own hand shaking.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Lunacy

The flags continue to fly at half-staff this morning, reminding us of the lives lost in the latest school shooting. Reminding us, too, that we all have a stake in stopping this craziness.

I wrote the poem that follows shortly after another mass murder. This one in the theater in Aurora, Colorado, as the loop of non-action rolled again.  



Lunacy


The magazine
shows photos of Aurora's dark night.

The Dark Knight
wrestles with mayhem in the theater.

The theater
bleeds bodies from live ammo.

The live ammo
fills the clips of magazines.

And the Joker smirks, "It's our Right."



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Birthday Gifts

Some people have a knack for finding just the right gift for whatever occasion. Most of us aren't as lucky, and someone close to me struggles. But at least his heart is in the right place.



Birthday Gifts from a Man
Who Doesn't Buy Presents


From a box sans paper or ribbons
a potter's handcrafted mug
circled with an obi-like band,
                  almost
     Japanese in aesthetic.

An upgrade over last year's gnome
gracing my utility room counter,
collecting pennies and pop-tops
                  in his linty wheelbarrow.

Though my grandson would disagree,
considers the pointy-hatted statue
                 "awesome."
The man and the boy riding the same
guileless wavelength, frequently.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Blue Moon

Earlier this week a rare lunar event transpired. A super moon, a blue moon, and a lunar eclipse, casting a reddish hue, coincided with each other. Predawn the morning of January 31st it hung in our western sky in all of its glory. But I missed it, and can't even blame cloud cover.

I do remember the last blue moon in July of 2015, and wondered then if it would truly be bluish in color. Most everyone, myself included, forgot about the forest fires raging in the west, and what happens to the atmosphere as a result.



Blue Moon


Three years in the waiting.

The gloaming
now inky enough to pen night's coming,
underscore moonrise.

Which shade will she wear -
winter-sky pastel or lily-pond wash?

Off to the East
behind trailing scarves of clouds
her unhurried ascent:

a stunning blood-orange.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Weighted Sky

We traveled to the cabin this weekend. It remains snug and warm despite surrounding snow and daytime highs in the teens. A sky full of sunshine always helps, too. This morning we woke to flurries, creating a pristine world once more, but certain to cause problems for the unwary.



Weighted Sky


Finally, sunshine through winter pines.

But skulking across the lake
stratocumuli like streaks of ash
smudge the tree line's edge.

And the north wind,
moody as a stepmother, threatens
to blow the pile of them into a mess
even Cinderella cannot sweep away.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Flashback

Like so many combatants back from war my peers who fought in Viet Nam would not speak of it. Then Ken Burns released his ten episode series on PBS about those hostilities, and the spectacle/specter returned in living color. That whole period continues to haunt me.

Flashback

Buried in the paper:

Agent Orange causes cancer

even in vets who worked

the desks in Saigon,

never fought on the frontline.

My friend pushed papers

there, shot skeet for action,

came home alive.

I thought to call him

with this news then realized

he died twenty years ago,

a fast growing renal tumor

taking him down.

Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Wrong Again

Even in deepest January with its unrelenting cold, if I listen, I can hear the calls of birds that overwinter here, especially, when the sky is clear and sunshine abundant. And that is enough to make me smile through these interminable layers of winter.



Wrong Again


Cardinals lift my spirits whether those feathered bits of pleasure sing summer or greet winter on branches blanketed with snow. Their enchanted call and response easily identified among avian scores. Or so I thought. Then I downloaded a birding app, discovered this refrain did not come from the throats of those resplendent songbirds. News almost as disturbing as the truth about Santa. Black-capped chickadees had copyrighted the three note melody, suddenly making the tune less delightful. Now I must reprogram my ears to hear the song sung by the scarlet warblers. A refrain almost as intricate as a Mozart passage. The intro to "Three Blind Mice" was so much easier to recognize.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor

Vespers

Recently, I attended a retirement party for one of my ER colleagues. Being retired myself, I no longer feel the gravity that comes with the responsibility for the lives of pediatric patients, and it is freeing.

While I worked in the ER my escape valve was the cabin up north, and to this day remains a source of serenity. On more than one occasion, my professional life and north woods life felt vividly juxtaposed.



Vespers


A ten-year old girl covered with hives

                   Miles into midnight countryside

Wheezing hard, unable to speak
Blood pressure levels slipping fast

                   Winter solstice weather
                   Crystalline and cold

In the ER a dance of rescue unfolds
Drugs slam home, infuse, relax

                   The wrap of blackness broken
                   Beneath a billion star sky

Breathing slower, a faint smile: good signs

                   Looking up, we almost feel divine.



Marilyn Aschoff Mellor