My grandmother never went out without a headscarf.
She had plenty of them, all neatly folded on a shelf in a low cupboard, within easy reach of a child.
In other words me.
The scarves were mostly chiffon and in rainbow colours.
They demanded to be unfolded and swirled in the air like fairy wings.
When opened to full capacity, they seemed enormous and perfect for dressing up.
Or delicate parachutes.
Luckily, at the very bottom of the cupboard, my grandmother also kept her footwear.
She never once complained about the pile of shoes, sandals and slippers in the middle of the floor.
Or the crumpled fairy wings that floated in the air.
She gave me rousing applause for singing and dancing.
And my scarf magic.
Kim M. Russell, 15th December 2018
My response to Imaginary Garden with Real Toads Weekend Mini-Challenge: Life is Ripe
This weekend I am delighted to welcome back Magaly to the Garden. She has been working her black-out magic with a miniature copy of the Selected Works of Poe to give us the title of her prompt. She would like us to write new poems centred on childhood memories that bring us joy as adults, with a suggested optional pump of Prose Poetry in 131 words or fewer.
Such a wonderful memory. My grandmother also wore those fair wing scarves. this made me smile hugely but also shed a few tears. You gave us beauty and love in this. Such memories. I still have a few of her scarves in a drawer, scented with lily of the valley. Thank you.
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My grandmother loved lily of the valley too!
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I can see that happy angel dancing in waves of colorful fabric that holds grandma’s scent. I close my eyes, and glimpse the twirling magic that turns scarves into wings. I bet grandma was delighted (even if inside she was sighing at the amount of folding that would follow).
I really love tone of the sentence fragments that end each stanza. There is a smirk and a giggle in there, a bit of artful mischief that tastes of pure magic.
P.S. Were the line breaks intentional?
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Thank you, Magaly. Yes, the line breaks trace the way the memory developed in my head. Later my grandmother gave me her treasured kimono, brought back by my great uncle from one of his many trips to far-flung places. He was a deep-sea diver. I had a small collection of dressing up clothes that I treasured.
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That sounds like a dream. A real kimono! and outfits with history in the fabric. Just awesome.
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My grandparents didn’t have much but what they did have they shared. They were so kind and generous. 😊
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Ohh this is such a lovely and enchanting poem, Kim! 💞 I especially love the image of scarves “swirled in the air like fairy wings.” 😀
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Thank you, Sansa. I was by all accounts an imaginative, theatrical child who adored dressing up.
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Adore everything about this post. Poem, photo, memories.
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Thank you so much Margaret.
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This is magic… and reading this brought back memories of the things my grandmother had… For me it was all those buttons she had collected… we used to play with them my little sister and I…
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We collected and played with buttons too!
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How wonderful to have such a loving and understanding grandma, willing to indulge a small mischief here and there if it meant her granddaughter was having a blast. #GrandmaGoals
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😊
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Every happy memory i have of childhood has my grandma in it. I loved your poem.
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Thank you, Sherry. I hope I feature in my grandson’s memories in a similar way.
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What a delightful read this is. I am sure your grandmother would have loved to join you in singing and dancing with a chiffon scarf trailing behind her too!
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Thank you, Robin. And you’re right – she did use to join in – and she was good! Granddad loved tap dancing on the lino!
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That is a wonderful story Kim. I could see the scarves slipping circularly through the air in colorful swirls. I used to love getting lost among the coats in our coat closet. I was a strange lad… 🙂
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Thank you, Rob. Funnily enough, my grandparents had a big old wardrobe that held a similar fascination for me! 🙂
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A lovely memory, and more especially of the generous woman who encouraged imaginative play.
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She was very generous, Kerry.
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How adorable!!! Love this.
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Thank you, Marian!
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