This evening a long-forgotten feeling popped its head up like a prairie dog. It has been so long since it’s knocked on the door to say hello and yet my body, every spidery nerve ending and every singing skin cell, remembered and snapped to attention.
It is my mind that’s slow to the draw. It pauses, examines the evidence. It reaches back through rolodexes and filofaxes and old dusty mug shots. Bent and warped from lack of use, it is unsure of what to do.
In the back room, my body throws its hands up in disgust and starts making preparations. It begins the process of unfolding, of letting down, of melting drop by drop. Only then does my mind finally locate and recall that sensation of being thrown off guard in a good way, of being a little exposed to this wide world, of feeling vulnerable.
The prairie dog, having found the ground thick and frozen, has already dropped back out of sight. And my body and my mind are left squinting after him into the horizon.
But spring is a mere six weeks away now.
This post is inspired by the #365Altars Project from @whollyjeanne.
I love this... I know this feeling. Elusive as it may seem, you always learn something as it passes through...
Posted by: kelly | January 29, 2012 at 06:17 PM
Beautifully written, Noel. Feeling something similar of late.
Posted by: Stereo | January 30, 2012 at 02:19 AM
Great images...they sound natural, like you could say them in real conversation.
Posted by: Abigail | January 30, 2012 at 09:45 AM
@Kelly and @Stereo--It is such a comfort to know you both have felt the same way. This experience was a bit foreign for me ... but exactly unpleasant, if that makes sense. Thank you so much for your kind words!
@Abigal--Really? That's awesome feedback, thank you! :)
Posted by: Noel | January 30, 2012 at 02:12 PM
This is a delightful piece, light and playful like that prairie dog!
Posted by: Dragonfly | January 30, 2012 at 06:13 PM
Lovely, hopeful ending. I'm counting the days until spring too, and have enjoyed seeing signs of it coming. That's what my next "altar" post is about! We are in sync again... :)
Posted by: Robin | January 31, 2012 at 04:39 AM
This bizarre and formless kind of feeling is my shadow lately. I haven't had access to the words for it. You did, and they made a difference for me.
Posted by: Kimsamsin | February 09, 2012 at 12:54 PM