memories

Heaven Sent

lillian36 Comments

Margaret and Kathleen: forever nine years old. Not ones to hold the chalk while others hopped from square to square, they’d met St. Peter at the gates, request in mind.

“Emissary,” was their word for the day that December first. They listened attentively as Sister Mary Kelley used it in a sentence. Henry raised his hand and at that moment, they began to smell the smoke.

And so it came to be. Fifty-seven years later, these cherubic emissaries hovered, waiting by the grave. Soon, a small child would take their hands and be escorted from this world to the next.

jhc5

100 words.  Photo by J. Hardy Carroll and used as this week’s prompt for Friday Fictioneers. Dedicated to those who lost their lives in Chicago’s Our Lady of the Angels Elementary School fire, December 1, 1958.

Florence Frazier – revised and revisited on the occasion of Veterans’ Day

lillian2 Comments

Red and white stripes unfurled
Old Glory flaps in the wind,
her grommets clank
straining against steel pole.

You loved the flag, its simple beauty.
You lived the flag, patriotism in your soul.
The greatest generation, and you a woman,
a Naval Commander among them all.

People should know your name.
Short in stature, you stood tall
turned boys back into men
healed so many, traveled so far.

Directed nurses, ran the floor,
turned painful rehab into hope.
War time compassion
in the midst of blood and missing limbs.

So many times we sat at your table
ate lemon meringue pie
and rolled the Yahtze dice,
treasured photo above our heads.

You and Admiral Nimitz, side by side.
One hero, honored, known by many.
The other, slipped through time
a silver haired, kind old woman.

Behind one door in a hall of many,
skill and will still intact
you urged your aging friends
Use it or lose it! You’re not dead yet.

You gave again, feet matched spirit
oxford shoes on dirt floors
eighty years old, cross and caring
African clinic, ignored by many.

You can do it, lean on me.
One foot at a time. Move!
And you did
and they did too.

The wind stops, clanking hushed.
Flag quiet. I stand still, missing you.
Commander Frazier, our Aunt Flo.
I remember that faded photo,
just one moment in your glory days.

IMG_2892

Photo:  U.S. Naval Commander Florence M. Frazier, 1915–2010. On the occasion of her 90th birthday, touring a ship in Charlestown Navy Yard wearing military cap. She was saluted by many that day.
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was Commander in Chief of the U.S. Naval Fleet in World War II.

Insomnia

lillian7 Comments

Half-pulled shade, headlights dance
in the space before the sill.
Thoughts of nothing and everything
bounce inside my head.
Days gone by reappear, faces blur then clear
generations meld one to the next.
Eye-open dreams change scenes quickly
acts play out in milliseconds.
Like a thousand moths flitting round the light
ideas, words, pictures, feelings, here then gone.
Time moves forward on a nearby shelf,
illumined dial ignores my stalled state.
I watch you beside me, face up, eyes closed.
You wear the night so well, sleep looks delicious.
I match my breath to yours, slow syncopation
like snow flakes falling in the dark of night.
No sound. One by one, breath by breath
and finally I drift.

snowflakes-1479963

Aunt Flo

lillian10 Comments

Old Glory flaps in the breeze
red and white stripes unfurled,
grommets clank against steel pole
as I walk by in a rush.

You loved the beauty of our flag.
You actually lived the flag.
The greatest generation, and you a woman,
a Naval Commander among them all.

Young girls should know your name.
Short in stature, you stood tall
saluted boys and turned them back into men
healed so many, traveled so far.

So many times we sat at your table
ate lemon meringue pie
and rolled the Yahtze dice
the infamous photo above our heads.

You and Admiral Nimitz, side by side.
One honored hero, known by many.
The other, slipped through time
a silver haired, kind old woman.

The wind stops, the clanking too
and I stand still remembering you
in that faded black and white photo
of your glory days.

IMG_2892

Florence M. Frazier,  1915 – 2010. Former Commander in the U.S. Navy. Photo is from Aunt Flo’s visit to us in Boston, celebrating her 90th birthday. At our urging, she brought one of her military caps. We took her to the nearby Charlestown Navy Yard and visited this ship.  As she boarded and as she walked on deck, every military personnel we met saluted her.  It was an absolutely magical day!
Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was Commander in Chief of the U.S. Naval Fleet in World War II.

Disappearing Hood

lillian8 Comments

chairs-2-1489343

Wrap around porch with hanging swing
iced tea chats and potted plants
playing dolls with Junie Z
on a summer night lit by fireflies.

Sliding glass door shut ramrod tight
concrete slab with charcoal grill
removed from prying eyes.

Two steps to double locked doors
reined in yard with triple garage
and wooden horse blinder fence.

The word neighbor? Gone.
It hopped a moving van,
took a right on the expressway
and drove right out of our lexicon.

 

Elegy for Childhood

lillian18 Comments

Do not grasp or fear the sifting sand
savor instead, sweet memories.

Tippee cups and imagined friends
popsicle sticky smiles.

Unabashed big bigger Balooka bubbles
popped on freckled nose.

High pitched yells with a Mary Jane stomp
knock knock jokes giggled silly.

Proscenium now disappeared, curtains askew
props and costumes gone.

Mourn not the little ones of yesteryear,
loose your hand and revel now.

Their roots are strong, let go the sieve
tis time to change the scene

beach

WP Writing 201 prompts: the word “flavor”, enumeratio (listing), and the elegy form. Elegy: usually in couplets, first line longer; can be a longing, loss, mourning, and/or a celebration of life.