Valley View (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, May 8, 2022, Mother's Day, feast day of Our Lady of Pompeii, Our Lady of Grace, Our Lady of Spoleto, Apparition of Saint Micheal the Archangel, Eastern Orthodox Sunday of the Holy Myrrhbearing Women and the Noble Joseph, Catholic Sunday of the Good Shepard. Feast day of Saint John the Evangelist and Theologian, Blessed Teresa Demjanovitch, Saint Ida of Nivelles, Blessed Marie-Catherine de Saint Augustin, and Blessed Ulrika Fransiska Nisch.  Jewish calendar today commemorates Jerusalem Walls Dedicated (at rebuilding, 335 BC). Image from here.)

Valley View

(for Mother’s Day, 2022)

Memories of a seventies kid, 

San Fernando Valley, California—

fairies, gnomes, Holly Hobbie. Mattel dolls,

their hybrid of charm and anatomy 101 —

Baby Brother Tender Love, for one, leaves no doubt he’s what he says.

And Mom, not one to miss a teaching opp, grabs a diaper, catches my eye. 

         Now when changing your real little brother, cover his winkie first — 

         Like this. Unless you want showers in the forecast. 

         Trust me on this one.

 

While Baby Snow White fires her questions with pull of string, 

          Do you live in an enchanted forest too?

          Umm...no, Snow, I’m a valley girl, remember? 

and nostalgia’s for before one’s time, used to think.  

Now sideglance at lifeline turns pink. So Snow, another pull at that string? 

         Yes. I live in an enchanted forest, funny thing –-

*From prompt: Freewrite as inspired by etymology of diaper; from Lisa Freedman’s BreathReadWrite, May 8, 2022.