Riverhouse Retreat
(video trying to capture the sounds and beauty of Fightingtown Creek, from the deck of the cabin where we stayed)
Riverhouse Retreat Writing Ideas from Spring Break Trip
- River stones smoothed by time--like my rough edges smoothed over time
- God's grandeur in nature
- The gift of hearing
- Peaceful chaos (the kids and dog)
- Contrast last year to this year--last year storm left us without electricity
- Hot tub time with kids/without kids
- Electronics' free day (sneaking moments to check email)
- Time to be
- Hiking
- Small town grocery shopping
- Relaxed doggy rules (cuddling the dog in bed)
- Cabin chotskys
River Stone
Bare feet in the cold river,
alternately sinking in mud,
then sliding across the stones.
alternately sinking in mud,
then sliding across the stones.
I bend over,
intrigued by the river stones.
intrigued by the river stones.
The quest begins to find
my river stone.
A gray stone with rough edges smoothed over time,
the one smooth yet still jagged in several spots,
the patterned rock with the intricate designed webbing of black lines,
or the complex quartz of white, brown and gray,
another rounded and smooth yet suffering from a piece cut out long ago,
the pyrite, fool's gold, shimmering deception,
which one is my river stone?
River stones smoothed and weathered over time.
Not finding my perfect stone,
I hoard them in my pockets,
taking them all home with me.
taking them all home with me.
In a jar on a shelf,
the stones dry out,
the stones dry out,
as do their shimmer, luster, and meaning,
and I am still searching for my river stone.
I am a lover of rocks and collect small ones that seem to be mine when I feel them. I know what you are talking about. My best friend gave me a large smooth rock for a wedding present. For my birthday my daughter gave me a beautiful green smooth rock she'd found on a walk.
ReplyDeleteYour idyllic break has gifted you with a neat list of ideas you have for future pieces. I confess my routine has gone out the window while on break and using my writers notebook along with it. Have tended to read lots, have late breakfasts and spent time with family - there we go, the start of my own list of writing ideas:)
ReplyDeleteYour post really shows how relaxing your vacation time was!
ReplyDeleteLovely poem. I have quite a collection of stones from our beach on Lake Michigan. It is hard to bring home just one!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous to capture your time & your search. I too collect stones, they seem so permanent in the feel & even look of them. I like that you told the story of the search beginning, as if it was a quest you didn't know about until it happened. Thanks Maya.
ReplyDeleteYour quest to find your stone reminds me of how I like looking for sea shells at the beach...Your time to relax sounds wonderful-even the rules are relaxed! ;)
ReplyDeleteWe too are spending time with family-but our breaks don't align so the next 3 days will be mommy-to-self days...chores galore around the house that can't be done when anyone else is here...my reward for checking off a chore is to check-out some blogs! Thanks for sharing your post!
When we travel I usually bring one stone home. However when we went to Switzerland I needed to bring home a couple of rocks! It was worth it!!
ReplyDeleteAt least a poem doesn't dry out and lose its shimmer. (Have you tried rubbing stones with wax paper? will bring back a bit of that river shine.)
ReplyDeleteI also love rocks and stones - and I love your poem. I am sorry you didn't find THE right stone but maybe all the different ones together represent pieces of you and your life. I imagine they still have lots of their shimmer, luster, and meaning, too. Could all those be found together in just one stone? Maybe - happy hunting.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your poem and your quest for your river stone. I couldn't help but wonder what you were hoping to find. The descriptions of the rocks you did find were so vivid I could picture them in my mind. I felt as if I was holding each one trying to decide if it was the perfect river stone. As they dry, I wonder what you are learning about each.
ReplyDeleteIn a jar on a shelf,
ReplyDeletethe stones dry out,
as do their shimmer, luster, and meaning,
and I am still searching for my river stone.
I wonder what you were looking for. I loved your descriptions of the cold water, and the mud.
Memories of a day?
Interesting that the poem doesn't end the search. A hope for more and a future stone.
I was thinking of you and your stone story when I found stones on the beach in Denmark when I was there in the middle of April, Your story stuck with me. Have you found your special stone yet?
ReplyDeleteMaybe? http://meanderingmaya.blogspot.com/2012/05/imperfections-revealed.html
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