Hope you had a great weekend - hopefully a long weekend, if you’re in the U.S.
The weather in my region has been kind of depressing, lately. But I got inspired on Friday morning to whip it into some prose. Here is a short piece I’m calling “Saint Valentine’s Day.” Hope you enjoy!
Text-only version below, in case the image above isn’t displayed by your email provider:
It’s a cold Friday morning. Strong wind blows over the car as I drive beneath bare branches. The world is the color of dishwater. Near Takoma Park the light turns red. As I wait, I notice a woman turn the lock in her front door and stride down her porch steps, the ribbons in her hand tethered to a gaggle of chrome-blue, heart-shaped balloons. They bat against each other like electrons – repelling, attracting, repelling, attracting.
Her scarf whips behind her. She pauses briefly to adjust her coat, then continues into the headwind like someone on a mission, weather be damned. She and her balloons veer right, away from my route. The light turns green. Fast-moving clouds scrape the horizon, and Friday lurches forward like a delivery truck.
Something good is on its way, I’m sure of it. Something like the slow breaking of an old spell. We just need to hang on a few moments more.