I met Marion in my “Jump Start Your Writing” workshop, which I led through the adult education program at Loudoun County Public Schools. A wonderful cohesive group developed over the few years that I led the workshop, and it was fun to see how everyone’s writing grew along with the camaraderie. Marion even had a short piece accepted by The Sun magazine during that time, which is no small feat! By day, she is a middle school English teacher. In the evenings, she hides away in her room and sings at the top of her lungs while clumsily strumming the guitar. She reports that her family loves her anyway.
Marion wrote the first poem below in response to a paint chip from Home Depot; the color was “Sugared Pansy Pink.” The second poem was written in response to this prompt from Barbara Abercrombie’s Kicking In the Wall:
Write about a pair of glasses, prescription or sunglasses, that you own or once owned. Write about loving your glasses or hating them, how you feel or felt when wearing them.
When I gave this prompt I also read the accompanying quote from David Sedaris:
In 1976 my glasses were so big I could clean the lenses with a squeegee. Not only were they huge, they were also green with Playboy emblems embossed on the stems. Today these frames sound ridiculous, but back then they were actually quite stylish. Time is cruel to everything but seems to have singled out eyeglasses for special punishment.
Here are Marion’s poems. Enjoy!
Erassurance
Sugared Pansy Pink
The color of an eraser
On a Dixon Ticonderoga
Pencil, #2
To be
Exact
Comforting
Cajoling
Convincing
Suggesting an easy fix
The ability to wipe out mistakes
And start over again
And again
No commitment
No risk
Like dating
Not marrying
Like renting
Not buying
Offering
Reassurance
And resilience
To this reticent
Writer
Reading Glasses
I reach for mine
And you grab yours
Little reading glasses
Help us see the newspaper
As we drink our morning coffee
In contented silence
I push mine down
The bridge of my nose
To look at you
The very moment
You peer over yours
To look at me
A smile flickers
Across your face
Before you return
To the news of the day
No need to say
Anything
Reading glasses
Like hour glasses
Mark the passage of time
We are growing old
Together
"Erassurance" and "Reading Glasses" © 2015 by Marion Sheaffer
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