All paintings by Betty Peterson. Click on photos of paintings to enlarge. The reflection of my hands superimposed over the hand in her painting was purely accidental, but I love the implication of our work being combined in this piece. R.I.P. Betty, friend of twenty years. The one sketch and watercolor of me was done in a small bar/restaurant in Tequila as we were waiting for my broken-down van to be fixed on our way to the U.S. The other painting of me she gave to me as a surprise, using a photo I had in my blog. She added Morrie, not realizing this was a photo of me in my wedding dress in 1987. Love how Morrie was suddenly transported back in time.
Conversing with Betty
You are the first person I see every morning—
there on my wall and hanging from my curtain rods––
your heart and talent painted onto watercolor paper,
matted, framed and preserved under glass.
Your freed spirit spreads out into my room like memory––
the sorties to find pre-Columbian treasures,
van breakdowns on the road to Tequila and road trips to the border,
shared secrets, successes and heartbreaks.
My friend, your life expired while mine still runs its course,
but you have left the women you gave birth to
behind you on paper and on canvas.
Their eyes follow me upon my rising, look over me in my sleep.
In them, I retain the best of you
here in my heart and on my walls,
grateful to have you still around me,
conversing in our favorite language.
Serial Lover
He was skillful at his art: a lover and romancer.
For every question of the heart he had a valid answer.
Pivotal to all his charms was his savoir faire.
He had a knightly bearing—a quality most rare.
No lady could resist his charms or deny the thrust
of his passionate ardor. He always won their trust.
And although perhaps at first they might have hesitated,
In the end, each maid he wooed at last cooperated.
But when the heat of passion turned inevitably cold,
and he wiped the slate clean, though he never kissed and told,
he’d move on to another challenge of the heart,
forget his last night’s ardor and make a brand new start.
Prompts for the day are clean slate, answer, thrust, pivotal and cooperate.
For the Pull Up A Seat Photo Challenge
I photographed this orchid last night at “Go” Restaurant in Ajijic. It was large. Perhaps 7 inches high. I’m not positive that it is a Ladyslipper, but it is so similar to one that I used it as a tag.
For Cee’s FOTD
Be Careful What You Wish For
The sky was dark and oorie the day of the premiere,
and approaching the red carpet, the star expressed a fear
her gown hem would be sullied as she passed through the morass
and the tabloids would just note the stains instead of her fine ass.
“Please tell them not to mention my less-than-perfect garb,
she spat out at her agent in her customary barb.
And her look was sullen as she left her limousine,
less glamorous than that depicted on the movie screen.
And as she slogged her way through puddles to the gala scene,
through photographers and writers from every magazine,
of course they all reported on that look of arch disdain
instead of any mention of her garment’s spreading stain.
Prompt words are oorie, premiere, disdain, morass and arch. Image by Raychan on Unsplash.
Working Out in My Seventies
I badly need a product that will make me indefatigable.
I have not the energy to blow, and less to bat a bubble.
It is just unfathomable that I ever walked
twelve miles through the jungle and barely even balked!
At the high point of my youth, adventures were my thing,
but lately I feel much deprived of energy and zing.
Swinging in my hammock is now enough for me.
It seems to mark the zenith of my energy!!!
Prompt words today are zenith, unfathomable, indefatigable and product.
What is the likelihood that a primary school in the U.S. would sport similar images as the ones shown in my earlier post? If you missed the images, go HERE.
I want you to guess what building in Ajijic this mural is painted on the front of. It is a mural that covers the entire building, but these are two of the major collages on it. Please click on the images to enlarge:
Beautiful images. To see what building they are painted on, go HERE. Might be a surprise.
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 