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Washed Away

She tended to worry
a lot... for a kid.
She'd lay awake at night afraid to listen 
to the sound of her heart beating,
worried that it might stop.

She'd once read the Time-Life Encyclopedia on The Universe
and became obsessed with the woman from Alabama
who was singled out, by a rock from a very far place, 
in her sleep.
So, she'd lay in her bed looking up
at that place in the ceiling where her meteorite would inevitably fall through,
and beg the Universe," Please not tonight, I have art class tomorrow."

As she got older  and wiser
every book, 
movie, 
or newspaper article,
told the story of someone, roughly her own age, dying young.

And so 
she became convinced that
every stomach pain,
headache or leg cramp was the onset of her own unhappy ending.

She hated that she worried so much
yet found herself drawn to the very things that caused her to worry.
Freak accidents,
natural disasters,
incurable illnesses,
third rails,
chain letters...

She would often think 
as she read the slogan for the dry cleaners downtown,
"Deposit Your Worries Here"
Oh, if only there were such a place!
And how busy it would be!

She imagined big sacks of worries,
pinned up with huge diaper pins,
being thrown into
enormous canvas carts
and transported by conveyor belt
into a dark, mysterious tunnel
where they'd be cleaned, steamed,
deodorized of anxiety
then starched and pressed into strength and hope.
Such a place would be magnificent, 
she dreamed...

And for a moment 
maybe an hour
all her worries
took a ticket and waited
at the counter

Hey! before you go vote for VodkaMom over here. It's so easy, just click on the thumbs up!
That's all ya gotta do!

Peace ~ Rene

Bondye konn bay, men li pa konn separe – God gives but does not share.
Haitian Proverb
Stand With Haiti

God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he’s not the one who’s supposed to divvy up the loot. That charge was laid upon us.” ~ Dr. Paul Farmer

Comments

  1. I know I can fall into that same place of worry.

    The beauty in this is that there is a place to unload the worries....it's only for those willing to take the burdens and lay them at His feet.

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  2. Becoming a woman...

    I'll never know the scary it must be...

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  3. Incredibly well written piece about the thoughts the plague so many of us. I will pass this link on to others if I may. I am having a conversation with a beautiful blogosphere friend at the moment who is having an acute episode of this kind of emotion. One beautiful trait of humans is that we are here for each other. Lovely post!

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  4. Very nice. This totally speaks to me. I tend to worry, too.

    xo

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  5. I think I'm that blogosphere friend that Michelloui is referring to in her comment. Whomever wrote this pose has my number! Thank you for posting it. I'm your newest fan.

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  6. Great post, Rene. Really, the best thing I've read in a while.

    IB

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  7. Really enjoyed this one--in addition to the great line about the dry cleaners, I especially liked this:

    "Freak accidents, natural disasters, incurable illnessess...
    chain letters..."

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  8. Beautiful post...been there, took a long time to find my inner peace, and on occasion I still misplace it sometimes. But am thankful for all of my worry-free moments

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  9. Rene, you described my childhood perfectly! (I think yours, too.) You write so, so beautifully! A genuine talent, that's you!! xo~

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  10. meteorites are scary things you know...could not help but smile...i have been there...and ifeels so good to escape.

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  11. Good post. I never worried about meteorites. Nuclear missiles, but never meteorites.

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  12. Ah, the survival tricks we play on ourselves. Great post.

    Cheers,

    SLC

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  13. Well there ya go again, Rene, up in my head.

    I was a pretty serious worrier as a child, and the heartbeat in the middle of the night thing? I was convinced that it was a wolf, coming to my life's door, and that when he reached the door, there would be a knock, and I would die.

    :-) Hey! What an uplifting post THAT would be, huh?!

    Pearl

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  14. I love this post!

    Hope you're having a great day and take care...

    :-D Anna

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  15. You had to remind me of the lady that got hit. I saw a picture once, I think she was sleeping on her couch. Thanks Rene, I ready for a happy poem now.

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  16. ...and we worried as children back in the days when there weren't all the t.v. channels there are today. Now, I can be a worrier about my children's worries!

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  17. Growing up, I went through periods of time when I worried about dying young, or being hit by a train (huh?).

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  18. Great post... glad I stopped by today. :0)

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  19. Oh Rene.... how I've missed your posts.

    Forgive you? For what? No worries my friend :)

    rue

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  20. rue
    thanks!
    and I really have been a comment slacker these past few months :)

    Peace ~ Rene

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  21. I love that idea! If you tell me where to drop off my worries, I'll bring an entire giant leaf bag full of 'em for recycling.

    At what rate are we redeeming worries at these days? Ten cents a bag? I'll get rich!

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  22. Where do you drop off those worries?

    Hope you had a great VGNO!

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  23. Love it! I need to send my worries away that way too!

    Stoppin' by to say hi from VGNO!

    ReplyDelete

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