I received the most delightful Christmas present: a poetry book published 7 years ago by Christian Bartholomew Wright.
I am not usually big on possessions — but books: I hoard them. A problem is that my whole life I have moved every so many years — to another place — and then I sometimes can’t find particular books any more. Which can be so annoying.
What is it about some books? What is it about some words? That I so love.
About 18 months ago — to be precise it was very early in the morning on 23rd June 2019 — I walked through Noosa National Park with my drone. I was planning to learn how to use some drone mapping software by programming Skido to make an interactive map of the rocks at Granite Bay.
I did make a map, though I can’t find it anymore. Then I sat on that beach and watched the waves. That morning the waves seemed to toss out lace, and then retracted it. I wondered, as I sat there, how would one ever describe the beauty of it, in words.
Then I received the poetry book this Christmas, and there are the words describing what I saw that morning, but with a changed context:
Books
.The sea is folding her dress, smoothing out the wrinkles.
She crochets her skirt in white foam doilies.
She pushes the hems down her legs
and pulls the slip up from her knees.
But in the ocean’s tired wash,
Her dress is threadbare and older than books.
My grandmother once taught me how to crochet doilies. I’ve no idea where they are now — the doilies. I also lose books, and maps filed on my computer. And the years, as we get older, they seem shorter.
After tomorrow it will be a new year. This year, I have at least found some words that I was looking for last year.
Happy New Year!
And may we always be allowed to just sit at the beach.
**********
The feature image (at the very top) is a photograph of me looking up at my drone at Granite Bay that morning, 23rd June 2019. And the picture (under the poem) has been clipped from one of the images taken by Skido (my drone) to make the map. I can’t find the map, but I more carefully filed the ‘lace’ and now I have some words for it.
Jennifer Marohasy BSc PhD is a critical thinker with expertise in the scientific method.
Thank you Jenny for this lovely New Year post.
My best New Year’s wishes to your and your family.
I too hoard books and sometimes lose them in the mixed up piles But recently I bought another large set of book shelves and was again bring order to most of the huge collection. As for files on computers, I long ago realised that they are ’emphemeral’ and easily lost forever. 🙁
PS Your observation & science based posts have been a joy & real eye opener for me this past year. This is especially as so many other blogs have simply died or even morphed into being all about USA politics. That has happened to two ‘sceptical’ science based blogs in the past year which were my favorites 🙁
G/day Jennifer,
A big thanks for all the research work etc you carry out and the facts you provide–amazing.
All the best for 2021 to you and family etc.
Cheers
Mike
Hi Jennifer,
thank you for those words from the book. Some people can just put such descriptive words to the most everyday things and capture the moment. I cant unfortunately.
Too technical all my life, no flare for capturing the magic of words. hence i love people who can do that. soo good.
and thank you for all your posts and hard work this year. Loved them all.
Take care and have a wonderful new year !
All the best
Ed
>” I was planning to learn how to use some drone mapping software by programming Skido to make an interactive map of the rocks at Granite Bay”
For that alone, whatever else, may you have many, many more years to do this. Drone mapping is come into its’ own now. Generating geological maps with them is a development that has a marvel to it for me – a wonderful use.
Just watch for territorial eagles – I have been watching a drone mapping outcrop when an eagle doing Mach 5 (or thereabouts) absolutely destroyed it.
doilies
My mother made doilies, and many other things. Each child,
and each grandchild picked colors and she made an Afgan (throw)
for us.
Mother died in 1980. My sister and I were e-mailing about these things
in November. I don’t think the term came up in the last 30 years, nor
have I seen it in print.
* * * 2021 is here * * *
– May the road rise up to meet you.
– May the wind be always at your back.
– May the sun shine warm upon your face;
. . . the rains fall soft upon your fields
[My Grandmother came from Béal an Átha Móir (Ballinamore).]
John
Belated wishes for a glorious New Year.
Thank you for all you do and for this forum.
May the coming year see a return to rational and effective policy, with all that goes along with that.