Daily Stuff, Clematis and Red Leaves

Storm Callum has been beating its way across Cornwall today and we have mostly stayed indoors doing the everyday stuff. This poem by Naomi Shibab Nye, Daily,  seems the right one for today though no washing was hung outside!

Daily - Naomi Shihab Nye

These shriveled seeds we plant,
corn kernel, dried bean,
poke into loosened soil,
cover over with measured fingertips
 
These T-shirts we fold into
perfect white squares
 
These tortillas we slice and fry to crisp strips
This rich egg scrambled in a gray clay bowl
 
This bed whose covers I straighten
smoothing edges till blue quilt fits brown blanket
and nothing hangs out
 
This envelope I address
so the name balances like a cloud
in the center of sky
 
This page I type and retype
This table I dust till the scarred wood shines
This bundle of clothes I wash and hang and wash again
like flags we share, a country so close
no one needs to name it
 
The days are nouns: touch them
The hands are churches that worship the world

 

The Clematis over the arch is hanging very low making it hard to get through – but I love how it looks this late into the season. Even after the storm, it is still looking good though blown about all day. We still have dangerous winds to come…….

Clematis taking over

Yesterday in Penryn, these richly coloured leaves caught my attention.

Red