The Meeting of the Gourds
She cradled her army
of tiny followers
In a royal blue hand-me-down shirt
Held up by teeth
To reveal a bare brown bottom
Soaking up the last
Chilly sun rays of Autumn.
This girl will be as close
To naked as she can
For as many months
Of this Vermont year
As she can.
Bare feet crunching
On brown and yellow leaves,
Toes and knees
The permanent color
Of gardens and grass stains.
No matter that her child's body
Is battling at the gates
Of womanhood.
She holds on
With an iron grip
To the fierce imagination
Of a babe.
Fairies eat from tiny acorn pots
And cook the littlest of squashes
In their snug little log house
Insulated with bundles of pine needles
Just as we surround
Our crumbling old foundations
With bags of raked leaves
Or bales of hay.
They scratch tiny messages
On Birch bark stationary
With bits of tiny campfire charcoal.
And rescue Woolly Bears
Who are slow to hibernate.
Accidentally, I find a note
To the fairies:
She is convinced that fencing lessons
Are a sure prerequisite
To running away.
And she is sure that running away
Is the key to adventure.
She plans to arm herself
With Mother Nature's found
Unicorn head staff
And is taking in
The education of sword fighting
With the seriousness of a soldier.
She has plans to research
The perils and benefits
Of forest plants and edibles
And with her decade of mother's love
Stored away in her little heart
She prepares to set out
Into the world -
To seek adventure
And defend herself against
All that hides behind
The curtain of youth.
Ah, but the glory of today!
The now is all that matters.
She wants to know
If there are chores to do,
If she has to take a bath,
If we have to go anywhere?
And if we do,
As soon as we are home
She begins to strip off
The confinement of her wardrobe.
A trail of pants and shirt,
Socks and underwear
Always in her wake.
Getting closer to her essence,
To the earth
That gave her life
Feet rooted
In the rocky dirt.
Chickens amble past
Dog basks in late day sun,
Chewing on a bone;
Cat stalks grasshoppers
Naked girl squats in front of a crowd
Of tiny gourds,
All placed in a semi-circle around her.
She addresses them importantly
Like the citizens
Of her private country
A nation of believers and dreamers.
Childish innocence and free spirit
Affirmed for another day.
