Monday, February 8, 2021

Into the Fold (junk journal poems)


Into the Fold (junk journal poems)


I’d play dress-up, Mother’s knee-length dress

a train behind me, hair, towel draped, 

cotton locks heavy upon princess shoulders.  


Winter-time, sister and I played for hours,

basement’s cement floor and unfinished walls

our oasis of make-believe; flower pots and quilts

our castle walls, magical gardens and forests 

with friendly woodland creatures and moon fairies; 

adventure as far as imagination could see.


Rarely made a mess, as we didn’t have much:

one toy chest full of mother’s fancy frocks

and two small shelves, one full of toys, the other books. 

A wooden rocking-horse with chewed leather ear 

and sparse yarn tail, our faithful companion. 


I’d sit for hours, illustrations and words 

memorized, chair overflowing with books

and cat.  Poems of bluebirds and Bluebeard,

stories by Stevenson, Lewis, and a Land of Oz… 


made me a dreamer, a seeker of solitaire, 

an adult woman who easily slips into the fold

of a thought and gets lost for the better part of a day…

and I’m all the richer for it.


by Margaret Bednar, February 7, 2021


A quick google search and I found my faithful childhood steed: 



This is linked with "The Sunday Muse #146" The image The Sunday Muse asked us to write to is "Natural Woman" Digital Collage Art "Covid Creations" by Susie Clevenger.  I was also inspired by my postcard clipped in my junk journal.




8 comments:

qbit said...

Simplicity can be powerful!

Helen said...

... slipping into the fold of a thought ~~ is wonderful.

Carrie Van Horn said...

You are richer for it indeed Margaret! This is a gorgeous poetic memory, and displays the making of a dreamer/poet. Love this! So glad you joined us this week. We have missed you!

indybev said...

I loved your poem! I was an avid reader, but we had no library nearby and books were at a premium. An older boy cousin gave me his collection of Zane Grey books, and I spent an entire summer reading Grey's adventure series on the American Frontier. It was my first encounter with the word "soliloquy", I recall!

Susie Clevenger said...

Beautiful poem rich with memories and lessons learned in exploring books, imagination, and solitude. Thank you so much for finding poetry in the image.

rallentanda said...

Imagination is the best survival quality you can have Einstein thought so.You a richer for it and it is something you cannot buy.

Sherry Blue Sky said...

Oh yes, a childhood steeped in books is the very best kind. I always had my nose in a book....my grandma kept exhorting me to go out in the sun and breathe the fresh air! LOL.

Charley said...

A delightful read!