Saturday, May 19, 2012

remember?

I seem to find myself drawn to revisiting the past as the school year draws to a close and summer plans begin to take shape.  As I shift through possible fun projects for more spacious days, this memory presented itself in response to this interview with Maya Donenfeld whose Story Scarves class I will be attending this coming fall at Squam.




still having lots of fun painting these colorful girls from Paint Your Story






Remember when adulthood hovered
an exciting castle in the air of our expectations?
I imagined it to be a magical transformation into something fuller,
more complete and self-contained

When I was a teen the rite of passage was a hippy denim skirt.
I took a pair of old levi’s
and painstakingly ripped out the inseams
each stitch another childhood worry released
and my teenage self liberated one golden thread at a time
from who I had been
who I no longer could bear to be

Harder though
was the reshaping something new
from stiff and worn denim,
floral print fabric used to fill in the gaps
pushing needle through dense layers - miles of hand sewing!
A thimble used when fingertips became sore
It was an act of determination to complete the thing

I remember the toll
but also the thrill
skinny girl legs stepping into maidenhood
adorned with Love’s lemon fresh
Bonnie Bell lips
Covergirl and
Dr.Scholl’s
New armor and allies


And I remember the surprise -
a floor length denim skirt being very heavy,
cumbersome
and hot to wear

I may had shed some childhood fears,
but I was unprepared for the weight of new ones

Still, I wore that skirt triumphantly,
my badge of adulthood
independence declared one painful stitch at a time.




 




 Happy summer dreaming. It's almost here ...
 

5 comments:

  1. love's lemon fresh.... just reading those words brought back the smell! and that summertime feeling. thanks. :-)

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  2. Tiger beat magazine, crushes on Ralph Macchio & Menudo, Love's baby soft, penny loafers and Jordache jeans were my teen rite of passage, along with my first professional (and short!) hair cut.

    As I travel back to Missouri this week for my nephew's high school graduation I too am being drawn into memories of summers past, particularly my own graduation in 1990, 22 years ago! Gasp Where did those years go and where did that girl go? It was my year of the endless summer, camping at the river with my first love, so full of idealism and dreams of the future. Good but bittersweet memories.

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  3. wow. wow. wow. beautiful, Lis.

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