Rain spits at the closed window
dripping with condensation
and I’m listening a play on the radio,
following in Nell’s footsteps.
The iron steams. Clothes, rescued
from the line when the first cloud
cracked, are scented with raindrops,
creased and pleading to be smooth.
Pressing fabric between iron and board,
I breathe in warm memories, slip
down the years into a laundry-scented embrace,
catch a clear reflection of her face,
the woman who taught me
how to iron away a rainy day.
Kim M. Russell, 3rd January 2021
My response to Poets and Storytellers United Weekly Scribblings #55: ‘What You Resist, You Become.’
Rosemary tells us that she’s been reading a variety of things, but more than anything she’s been immersing herself in the Romance genre – and she has turned into her mother! She says that, when she was growing up, she was determined not to be like her or live her kind of life, but ‘What you resist, you become’.
Rosemary invites us to write about turning into one of our parents or resisting such a fate.
I’ve reworked an old poem from 2016, not about one of my parents, but about the woman who brought me up until I was seven years old – my grandmother, Nell.
writing in north norfolk 
Kim, I am so glad that you wrote this. I could not even mention my dad in my write, Grandpa didn’t raise me but he was living close physically and cared for me a lot, perhaps more than I show. I am glad you had a Nell, a lot of us were fortunate to have had one.
..
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Thank you, Jim. I still miss my grandmother terribly – she died in 1998. Grandparents are special.
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Nell was obviously not one to be resisted! I love that idea of ironing away a rainy day. And oh my, weren’t you cute as a button!
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Thank you, Rosemary! I always listen to a play, story, quiz or comedy on BBC Radio 4 while ironing.
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I think grandparents have a great love for their grandchildren as they can imagine a part of themselves living on in them in the future years.
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I love how cozy you’ve made the setting. It just feels so welcoming and content. Your grandmother must have felt like such a soothing and steadying presence in your life.
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She was, Rommy.
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Oh, this just floated me away, KR. Very sensory-driven memory. Beautifully rendered. Congrats!
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Thanks so much, Ron!
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I found myself warmed to the bone with the affection in the poem. So lovely.
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Thank you, Marilyn, that makes me very happy.
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I can smell both the rain and the scent of laundry. There is a warmth to both. What a lovely feeling this evokes.
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Thank you so much, Lori.
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Lovely poem
Lovely Gran
even Lovely laundry
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Thank you Rall!
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Seems those ironing experiences have become a thing of the past…..another pleasant memory of which our daughters are deprived. Somewhere Nell is smiling!
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Thank you, Bev, I’m sure she is.
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SO lovely and poignant.
-David
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Thanks David.
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Ironing is a lost art.
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I still enjoy ironing with the radio on.
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Love the perfectly captured memory. I can smell the scents and see you both, at different times in your lives, heating up rainy days with an iron. What a sweet thing to share.
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Thank you, Magaly.
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A beautiful remembrance… and tribute.
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Thank you, Helen.
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What a great photo! Your poem was comforting to me, as it brought back my mother’s ironing,
and how the house smelled.
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Thank you, Sara! I’m glad my poem was a comfort to you.
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Purely magical words. The condensation at the window a hint of the story to come. I LOVED this. The ending line is fantastic.
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Thank you so much, Margaret!
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Heartfelt and atmospheric piece, Kim. I remember that condensation on the window!
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Cheers Jim!
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Beautiful! Really lovely.
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Thank you, Kate.
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This is so beautiful and touching. The simplest tasks often bring back the strongest memories.
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Thank you for reading and for your kind comments!
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