Discombobulized,
she was like that.
Wound up tight tremors,
taut sprockets of the mind.
Spring-like nerves compressed
temper flares spewed.
Church hands folded, twitched,
flailed by noon.
Even keel sailing
turned runaway train.
Expect the unexpected,
she was like that.
Kim is hosting today’s quadrille ( a poem of exactly 44 words, not including the title) at dVerse, the virtual pub for poets, and asks us to use the word “spring.” Bar opens at 3 PM Boston time. Come join us!
lillian the home poet 
I know this woman!
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My guess is there will be others who will “recognize” her in their own friends or relatives. Helen Cecile happened to be my mother. She could be a lot of fun one minute and then a runaway train the next. You always had to be on your toes so to speak….
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I may have dated Helen during the late 60’s; fascinating, yet so much the chameleon, so very spontaneous & unpredictable, it was like trying to slow down or domesticate a hummingbird–she flitted away before I could protest.
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Oh I love your words here…..spontaneous/unpredictable. Funny how those words can be positive or negative….my Helen Cecile was definitely not a hummingbird!
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It is probably good to expect the unexpected and not assume what’s trending will trend the same way. People like Helen remind us of that.
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Amen to that!
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The contrast between her church hands and her tension is so great… I really saw her.
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Happy to introduce you to my mother, Bjorn. She left this earth in 1998 — but she is still so real in so many ways to me. Loved her one minute…..then….
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An unusual but very apt interpretation of the word ‘spring’… I know a few women (and men) wound up tight like that – and then bursting into action.
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Ah…your “bursting into action” has a positive spin to it. Helen Cecile was a difficult one to handle, to love, to be with…..and then the next minute, we’d be trying on silly hats and laughing up a storm!
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I like the punch and twist of words in this, Lill. Very much.
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Thanks! This was a good one to edit down to 44 words….which is what I think gives it the qualities you’re sensing. Getting to only 44 words gets you down to the raw energy of the thoughts, right?
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A very vivid description of someone not best equipped to deal with what came her way – a mother like her would not have been easy for any child xxx
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Agreed. Love is there….but frustration too.
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💖 xxx
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Ah, yes, I had a friend as described. One moment the court jester, the next the executioner, with a tongue so sharp no guillotine was needed! She, too, was wound tight. I enjoyed the read!
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Thanks, Bev. I suspect many know a Helen Cecile.
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Fabulous!
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Thank you!
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unpredictability and effervescence…what’s not to like!!
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well…..sometimes it can be a bit too explosive!
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This is a beautiful tribute, Lillian.. ❤️ especially touched by “Church hands folded, twitched,
flailed by noon.”
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Thank you, Sanaa.
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Like the undercurrent of this and that ‘church hands folded’ is a great observation
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Thanks for the read — appreciate it! 🙂
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swings of highs and lows so beautifully described by someone who knew the person beneath the changing personalities.
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oh yes — there were swings indeed!
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Wow, this is an evocative portrait! with perhaps bi-polar tendencies…?
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Never diagnosed….but the swings were sure there.
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My dad was diagnosed with bi-polar in later years…and i experience mood swings.
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Mood swings can be hard for the person having them and for those who feel them…I am glad there is now a better medical understanding of those who face a bi-polar diagnosis.
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Yes, me too!
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You captured my attention with that wonderful word ‘Discombobulized’! Did your mother use that word often? I love the phrase ‘taut sprockets of the mind’, I think I might have them :).
I can see those church hands too.
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Thanks, Kim. Don’t know where the word comes from in my vocabulary — but it’s been there a long time.
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Coiled for action…but what sort?
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Exactly!
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Some people’s lives just seems to explode. The train image was great.
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…and sometimes over and over again 😦
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Wow, Lillian–your unique spin on the prompt really evokes this woman. Such great character development. Today, I’m afraid I kind of relate to her, so you are reminding me to uncoil.
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In today’s world, we are far too often coiled tight……..:(
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expect the unexpected, it helps during trying times.
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Exactly!
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Top of the neWesT
SpRing to ya.. mY
friEnd.. Lillian.. noW
And Lord knowS and
FeelS and seNseS iN
aS liGht of Hope.. Or
FeAR of DArk.. NoW
SpRings
do
go
both
ways..
all wound
up or loose
And floWer
Fresh FReED..:)
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….like that toy, a Slinky…..coiled tight and sometimes loping along uncoiled. You’ve got that right!
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WiNks.. Lillilan..
A Real trick is
finding
A way
for the
sLinKy to
climb uP stAirs
as DOwn Stairs
iS alWays dOne more
iT seems.. at leASt
iN thE pArTs wHEre
i liVe wHOle.. NoW..;)
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Such a well done portrait Lillian. Starting with ‘discombobulized’ is brilliant.
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Thank you, Janice. I appreciate your words here! 🙂
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Yes, I know them… some were nuns, some were relatives, until we become un-expected.
As so goes I, on occasion… with regret.
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