scribblings

december 15

the writing

Abigail answered the door in a fluster, a candy cane stuck to her sweater. Behind her, the tree was toppled over, the Spencer children were screeching, the dog was covered in tinsel— 
“I wanted to invite you out, for some hot chocolate,” Becca said, barely suppressing a laugh. “But how about I help you tidy up first?”

~

solstice arrival: 
crowned with holly, torch-bearer 
welcoming the dawn 

~

He glanced around the cafe, looking for their contact, when a shudder moved through the air—his name, called out by the barista, was cut off as time froze. A boho-looking girl appeared out of thin air, wand in hand—pointing right at him.
The cat on her shoulder spoke: “Lady Cross sent you, I presume?” 

~

a yule simmerpot: 
berries, orange, cinnamon stick 
rosemary and clove  

~

The fire had burned down, two cups of hot chocolate gone cold on the coffee table. A  certain bakery owner’s jacket was tossed on the back of the couch. Maggie’s bedroom door was shut. 
Her roommate, sneaking in from her own tryst, laughed. “Someone got their Christmas present early.”

the reading

Poem: “Painters” by Muriel Rukeyser

“Great living animals grow on the stone walls,
their pelts, their eyes, their sex, their hearts,
and the cave-painters touch them with life, red, brown, black,
a woman among them, painting.”

Essay: “Maine Man” by Lev Grossman (from The Lonely Stories)

“When I finally made up my mind to leave Ellsworth, I was so relieved I felt like I was weightless. I couldn’t believe it was finally over. I felt like I was walking on the moon. I stayed up all night packing everything I owned into the Subaru and left just as the sky was starting to show cornflower blue on the horizon. I drove out of town—the radio was playing ‘Tangled Up in Blue.’ Then I drove back into town when I realized I’d forgotten my one good kitchen knife, retrieved it—terrified that I would somehow be discovered and detained there permanently—and drove back out again, this time for good.”