Three Minute Fiction

(This was my entry last year for NPR's three minute fiction contest.  The first line had to be "she closed the book and walked through the door...")

     

     She closed the book, placed it on the table, and finally decided to walk through the door.  She knew that birthing this baby would not be easy, but as a rural mid-wife in Mississippi, she realized that the powerful qualities of the herb clary sage would help ease the child out.

     The mother had already been in labor for 10 hours and had pushed for 5.  The baby’s heartbeat was starting to get more faint.   The mother was exhausted and the mid-wife feared for the safety of both mother and baby. 

       Confident that she held the answer to the woman’s agony in her hands, the mid-wife took a last look at the book “Clinical Aromatherapy for Pregnancy and Childbirth.”  Creating a potion of the ancient remedy, she carried it to the laboring woman, hopeful for a miracle.

Sunday Morning

     The bed is made and my breakfast of cantalope and cottage cheese was tasty.  I usually go to the Durham Presbyterian Church on Sunday, which is a bit of a drive for me.  I'm drawn to the openness and friendliness and format of the church service.   There is no pretension there.  I feel "home" there.

     Checking the weather now to see what the forecast is...

Today's Gratitude

It's important for me to remember the blessings in my life.  Today I'm grateful for:

1.  Fresh, steamed broccoli.
2.  My new friend Vesta.
3.  Not being in a relationship.
4.  Feeling calm and peaceful throughout the day.
5.  Getting a few bills paid.
6.  Not worrying about finances.
7.  Feeling sleepy.
8.  The possibility of going to Durham Church tomorrow, weather permitting.
9.  Beethovan.
10. White sage incense.
11.  A soothing rain.
12.  A comfortable bed.
13.  God's protection.
14.  My rich memories.

The First (c)

In drop-outs.

In H.I.V.,

and hunger.

It's not for me.

No longer can I stay here,

I've tried to be

A part of the solution,

Now I'm on my way --

I just can't stay...

I Live (c)

   


 In the fourth poorest

part of the country,

and the second hungriest.

He lives

in the richest,

the most affluent.

But I'm working to change

the situation.

My inspiration

lies West of here.

 

 

Princess Diana in a Black Dress (c)

The blonde hair was swept

to the side that day

her eyes looked up,

far and away.

Not even a foretaste

of what was to come.

What a loss.

But what a blessing,

That she wore that dress.

  in the last photograph,
 It almost seems
to capture her laugh.
The laugh that was silenced
in a Paris tunnel
on August 31, 1997.
Can it possibly be
sixteen years ago?
An icon,
taken from the world,
then mourned by so many.
But the image remains
of that black dress,
and others.
Like the one in which she
danced with Travolta,
a lasting symbol of her
 passion
for the dance
of life.

I Saw (c)

Her today,

Red dress on,

popping her gum.

I knew it was her 

before I could see her.

I could sense evil.

"Baby,"

she called the clerk 

at the desk.

I looked at the stoney face,

and unsmiling face,

she's a disgrace.

I made my exit.

Hard to believe she had been a teacher.

No one could reach her

before she drove off her staff,

Leaving a trail of

lies and deception in her 

wake.

I just couldn't take

even being

in the same room

with her.
As Cole Porter said,
it's an ace in the hole --
"when the devil in slacks
breaks down your self control."