Last Minute

This poem was written by January O'Neil, author of Poet Mom (http://poetmom.blogspot.com/), a wonderful blog about poetry and writing. Ms. O'Neil is a verifiable sassy lady, a mom, and a fantastic writer to boot. I always enjoy reading her entries, and I especially loved this poem. Thanks, January, for allowing us to share it here!

Last Minute
Say nice sweater. Say I look beautiful.
Say the rain is a shadow inside my body.
Maybe you meant to say shallow. Maybe
I was mistaken. Maybe I was only thinking
about the rain and someone’s woolen voice
wrapped around me. Say I am an Amazon rainforest,
with a canopy of leaves protecting my understory.
Say the words so I can stretch them across my dry,
cracked body. Say that gravity is just the earth
pulling me back home. Tell me all of this
and I’ll tell you how I treaded
an ocean of indecision to get to this sweater,
its woven imperfections under the heavy layers of winter.
Tell me how lucky I am to recognize irony
as an element of beauty, that I chose something last minute,
because in real life that’s the only real minute we have.
Tell me I look like rain today.
Tell me I must be mistaken.

Women We Love #1: Julia Child

Julia totally subverted the traditional idea of what it meant to be a 'housewife' - over six feet tall, strong-minded, and just a little endearingly 'off', she was one of a kind both in and out of the kitchen. And I love that she sent a Christmas card of her and her husband in the bath together, and that she referred to death as "slipping off of the raft". This woman had spunk and real spirit. I can imagine her throwing her head back and laughing loudly and with abandon at all the complexity and, ultimately, the utter simplicity of life.