Sunday, November 23, 2014

Continuity



On entering, we are assailed by the smells:
sausage and sage, butter, brown sugar,
cinnamon …
commingling, tempting;
then the warmth
oven on long before dawn,
steam rising from various sized pots…
not to mention body heat—
for everyone gathers here in this room.
Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole
echo from the wooden console radio
in the next room,
two sisters croon out their favorites;
a third—younger—swoons, exclaiming once again
how she “loves that skinny Italian boy from Jersey.”
A cacophony of voices and laughter
rise and fall.
The house becomes a budding entity
breathing,  beating with the life
of those gathered here…

We carry these images from our past...
family, friends, gatherings
spinning together as one.
Defining; reminding where we come from,
who we are
...and we pass it forward
to our children,
this gift of unconditional love
in a place we call ‘home.’

©  Ginny Brannan 2014

Family photo, 1956. 

Shared: dVerse Poets Meeting the Bar: Thanksgiving Turkey with a side of Poetry
Also honored to have it shared here by Women's Spiritual Poetry

The image is my family: towards the back Aunt Jane on the left; then my mom, with her back to us, stylin' as always; then Aunt Mary and Aunt Rose, to the far right peaking in with glasses I believe is my Aunt "Butch"(Bernadette); in the foreground leaning over I believe is my Italian grandfather, that baby on the lap, that would be me, not sure in whose lap but it could be Aunt Ginny or one of my dad's sisters. I remember so many Christmases of my childhood, tradition to stop at Aunt Mary's house after church (she lived across the street from the church!). Her stereo would be on playing all the holiday favorites. The reference to "that boy in NJ" is for my Aunt Gin, who adored Frank Sinatra! My mom passed when I was seven, this photo a freeze-framed memory of a very special time.

16 comments:

  1. A beautiful, vivid and heart-warming write. The poem beautifully illustrates the idea of 'home' - how it more than just a place, quite incomplete without the certain set of people that give that place the homely vibe. :)

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  2. So realistic and wonderful. I went back and I was home.

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  3. Sounds like our house when we were kids, Gin. Except toss in a little Perry Como and Eddie Fisher. But that vibe and those images? Home! Happy Thanksgiving, dear lady.

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  4. the house becomes a budding entity...smiles...when everyone is in it...it def takes on a life of its own...and the smells...remind me of childhood....of coming home...

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  5. hmmmm....the scents, the warmth, the laughter... i just wanna step into the pic or/and poem and celebrate a bit with them... happy thanksgiving ginny!!!

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  6. To me this would be like Christmas- the smell and the togetherness. Love all the senses you bring forth.

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  7. Even though for many Home is where the heart is, our memories of Thanksgivings past do become the model for our efforts to pass on
    the family vibe; a very moving & emotional write, G.: rocked the prompt softly.

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  8. This is beautiful, Ginny. I think too about all those Thanksgivings of the past, with traditions started and maintained by people in my family who are no longer with us, and now the torch is passed, and it is me who prepares the meal.....we do pass it forward, and hope that the next generation will carry it on.

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  9. A lovely verse of Thanks giving togetherness in a family way...

    Just got back from my wife's in-laws.. where there is quite a mix of extended family diversity.. and the thing that bonded them together was a stay around a TV set.. and a movie about Zombies...

    Whatever works..

    i guess.. to keep folks glued someway together..

    in Love..:)

    Happy Thanksgiving..!..:)

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  10. What a warm poem and beautiful, inviting scene.

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  11. Love the pic from the past...typical of so many our families 50 years or so ago....the beginnings of our feelings for this holiday aren't really old tough when you think about it....in a sense the Mayflower didn't happen that long ago ..really! Sweet Thanksgiving poem!

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  12. This is the stuff families and made of. Love it Ginny. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. xx

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  13. Wonderful how you incorporated the sensory experience of the holiday into this, Ginny. Truly a delight. The scents are the most powerful and, as we know, have a huge effect on our memories.

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  14. You effectually captured the warm vibes of a home-spun holiday!

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  15. Home is indeed something to be thankful for.

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  16. Ginny, thanks for your comments over at Three Way Light. I sighed at your poem....I was born in 1952. All those sights and especially the sounds--Johnny Mathis et al--bring back so many memories.

    We are blessed.

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Thank you for reading my poetry and sharing your thoughts.