per·i·pa·tet·ic
ˌperēpəˈtedik/
adjective
  1. 1.
    traveling from place to place, especially working or based in various places for relatively short periods.
    "the peripatetic nature of military life"
    synonyms:nomadic, itinerant, traveling, wandering, roving, roaming, migrant,migratory, unsettled
    "I could never get used to her peripatetic lifestyle"
  2. 2.
    Aristotelian.
noun
  1. 1.
    a person who travels from place to place.
  2. 2.
    an Aristotelian philosopher.

Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Day After No(e)L, Yes, 'E' and 'L': Counting Blessings on the Gulf Coast


Yes, "E" and "L"

It was the Day; it was Christmas
And all through the night
Not a spoon still was stirring
Those meatballs--they had tasted all right

The kids and the Grand safe at home with their gifts
(SAM and I were now alone except for the cat)
When what should appear in Mobile, Alabama
But a funnel (tornado) that lifts
Lots of trees, roofs, and cars in the air
And then they did splat

Old Man Winter clashed with Warm Gulf Moisture
And stirred up some trouble
Still, SAM and I kept our cool
Though our stomachs with too much food and anxiety did bubble

The weather scenes on TV were looking quite bad
But no one was hurt, at first reporters did say
The flashlight and candle were made ready
In case of power outage so a Scrabble game we could play


The game was begun with "slob" in the middle
And by the time it was over the last word was "if"
With tiles all gone and points added up
SAM had won fair and square though he did manage to miff

My "qi" would have been "quiet" if not for his "mod"
The U in my "human" was placed for the kill
But SAM was the cool one with sharp wit and honed skill
His "slob" in the middle the game had begun
By the end of the game I was "upended" by SAM's "if"
And he had won

Though the wind still is blowing
The storm's worst now is past
By light of day Mobile's damage will be showing
But the damage will not last

Last night on TV the people kept on saying
Through the storm their spirits were lifted by constantly praying
With them, we prayed too while the game we were playing
That the people we love with the Word that is right
Would be safe and at peace through the storms of the night

Look closely at the game board and you will see
That the "bib" that SAM made with "B," "I," and "B"
Was finished by me with an "L" and an "E."
The comfort we find to keep going through strife
We find in that book; yes, "E" and "L" with an "if" become--

"LIFE!"

18 comments:

  1. Quite clever!! Glad you are safe, all is well. Hope Santa, at least, was good to you!!

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  2. Thanks, Karen. Yes, we are safe and well, and Santa sent me some Young Living rose oil for Christmas. Just in time, too, because the bottle I've had since 2005 just ran out. Precious stuff!

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  3. Dear Walk2Write,
    so you had a wonderful Christmas - and I adore your poem! Especially the way you managed to get the spirit of the feast into it and on the scrabble board - your chi must have been very well! So now I wish you a Happy New Year for you and your family!
    Britta

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  4. Yes, we did and thanks, Britta. Wishing you a Happy New Year too!

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  5. Do you play Words with Friends on your smart phone? If so, let's play! You can find me as "TC_C." I'm no slob at it either!

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  6. What an awesome poem! We never heard of the storms, since no tv on that evening. Hope everyone there was safe. Scrabble always kind of is "there" when we need it. God bless it's maker, eh???? You are a gifted writer....thanks for posting this!

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  7. You always put some twist on your words and it's fun to read and food for thought, however I have to confess sometimes I found it difficult to understand what you meant fully.
    I am glad the storm never blew down the spirit and a pleasure of the people.
    I enjoyed visiting here and learned a lot.
    Thank you for sharing, w2w. Wish you and your loved ones wonderful winter holidays and a Happy New Year!

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  8. Love your poem--very clever! Glad to hear you are safe and sound, W2W. Scrabble sounds like the perfect way to spend a quiet, albeit anxious Christmas. We spent Christmas evening awaiting the predicted blizzard, which never came--it hit south and east of us instead.

    Belated wishes for a blessed Christmas, and wishing you all the best in the New Year!

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  9. Never heard of it, TC. I'm still using my smartphone mostly for phone calls, texts to family, and occasionally surfing the net. It's so difficult to read anything on it, the print being tiny, that I have to expand everything. I'm afraid I would take an eternity to play a word game on the darn thing. Besides, you can always change your mind at the last minute with the board game as long as you keep your finger on one of the tiles. Not sure if that's an official rule, but we play it that way.

    Thanks, Julie. You're being way too generous with the praise. My writing is just for fun. I agree with you about Scrabble. I'm glad it's not electronic. At least our version isn't.

    Sorry, Cosmos! If I couldn't play with words, I'd sure be in trouble. Wishing you a Happy New Year too!

    Rose, I heard about the blizzard from family down south of you. That was some storm all right. Usually the really nasty weather hits in January or February. I hope this isn't an indication of things yet to come this winter for you northerners! Best wishes to you and your family.

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  10. I first thought that the photo was about a piece of abstract art. It does look like one. Glad to know that you are safe!!
    I hope you have been enjoying the winter holiday season and offer my best wishes for an auspicious new year!!

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  11. That's interesting, Sapphire. I would never have thought of a Scrabble game as art. I'm just glad there were no obscene words in this game. They do tend to pop up occasionally.

    Best wishes for the New Year to you and your family.

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  12. Love your poetic entry! I have been a bit busy to wax poetic these days, but I am glad to see you you had a good Christmas. Ours was quiet, which was a real gift for me! :-)

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  13. I'm glad you like it, Ciss B. I've been missing your blog posts. I hope you have a more relaxed and peaceful New Year. Thanks for stopping by.

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  14. I'm impressed with your scrabble board. I find Words with Friends online annoying in that it tells you if it's a word or not. Nothing like the original instead. Happy new year!

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  15. Mr. S, well I'm glad to know that about the online game. Being challenged on a word by a computer game would not make me very happy. How does the computer know for sure that I haven't invented a new one? Besides, bluffing your human opponents is what makes the game so much fun. Happy New Year to you!

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  16. I love the humor of this post. It's no surprise that you play with words even offline. Still, I'm relieved the storm didn't hit you too hard.

    Happy New Year!

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  17. Ugh! We just got back from visiting our Baldwin County friends, so I heard about the Christmas Eve tornado! What a terrible surprise.

    But we know how to rebuild, and I'm SO glad you guys didn't suffer any damage!

    Take care, my friend! Here's to a calm 2013! <3

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  18. Neat poem from a good sport. You did let you hubby win didn't you. For me I've given that game up. The record stood at 17 wins and 328 losses to Mrs. T when I finally retired or became a "quitter" as she put it....:(

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