Shoebox...A Poem

Shoebox

My festive jacket flutters in a humid wind,
crackles with the onslaught of whipped up sand.

Smiling brown reindeer sweat beneath a giant sun,
casting amber shadows towards the horizon.

Sturdy jeep wheels plough through a gritty terrain,
jostling my cargo of crammed Christmas love.

The convoy descends the river-bed road,
it splinters and creaks like old, dry bone.

Fumes of jasmine rise in spirals from a
ribbon-bound soap buried deep within.

Blends with the odour of anticipation
caught in the sultry currents of nowhere.

Whispers erupt in a post-war silence,
where birds fly a circuit of endless circles.

The low hum of an ancient
African carol greets us.

© Ellen Johns 2005

What would I have put in a time capsule?

I almost forgot to write this but here it is at last.

I have to cast my mind back a very long way to about aged 8 and think hard.....

An Abba single in vinyl form of course. Any one, I liked them all....a 45.

My clear blue marble.

A traditional Yorkshire Sunday lunch, consisting of Yorkshire pudding with gravy for starters, Yorkshire pudding with roast beef and Yorkshire pudding with jam for pud. Made by my Granny P.

One shiny conker.

My Cindy doll with her wardrobe. I was fascinated by the little clothes hangers and shoe rack.

A packet of Spangles.

A book called "On the Run" by Nina Bawden.

A pen with interchangeable nibs of all different colours. I thought it was the most amazing technological breakthrough at the time.

A design game called "Spirograph where you used little plastic circles to make pretty patterns.

A big bag of thin elastic bands to join together to play a jumping game called "Elastics".

My Grandad's old coin collection. He had hundreds of them. Old pennies and farthings, all neatly wrapped in tissue paper, and my Granny P's button box.

My best treasure of all...a plastic, cameo ring my Grandad P bought me. I remember it cost 25p which was a lot of money when I was 8. You lifted the cameo lid and inside was the tiniest doll imaginable. I have never been so excited in all my life. He bought it in Germany, where the best toymakers in the world reside.

During one of our many moves, I lost my treasure. I was so upset, I cried for days.

Phew...I could go on for ever, but these are the things that I remember well.

How I wish I had filled a time capsule.

Over and out.

Mumps!!! Yes...me!

Well, who would have thought that I would get mumps at my age? Well I have.

Mumps at 39. I honestly thought I had contracted all the childhood illnesses in the book before I reached 8...obviously not.

I have been on another planet since last Sunday. A planet where large swellings like watermelons, invaded my face spaces, if you know what I mean. I didn't think it would be as painful as all that...as if someone had their fingers permanently pressed in the pressure points behind my ears, but it was and worse at times.

I had a letter from the "Public Health" informing me of my condition, like I needed reminding.

I came across an old translation of the word "mumps" whilst scaring myself half to death reading information on the rare side effects.

"Mumps"...lumps and bumps within the cheeks!!!

I also read on one website, that fruit juice should be avoided as it stimulates the already swollen salivary glands.

Whoopee for me. I have been feasting on pure orange ice lollies and lemon sorbet all week!!!

We live and learn.

Enough of my ailments and afflictions. I am fast becoming a serial moaner!!!

Over and out from Planet Lumpy.

The Time Capsule

Well, today I signed up to join a blog web ring called "Time Capsule". It is owned by my good friend Berenice who has just started it and invited me to submit.

I love the name she has chosen and am looking forward to visiting the other blogs in the ring. They all look very interesting.

How I wish, I had filled and buried my own time capsule when I was a child. I wonder what I would have unearthed, if I had done. Now there's a thought.

I might even make a list of the treasures I might have buried, at say, 10 years old or thereabouts. Hey, I could even use this idea as my next poetry challenge. To write about the contents of your very own time capsule.

I hope this time capsule of words is successful. We will have to wait and see.

Over and out.