objects – Leonas Lines

Choka

Last Nights Dream

Posted on May 28, 2020 by Leonas Lines

Lamp and Tamborine drawing — Drawing by Leona J. Atkinson 05-28-20

Objects left behind,

Old out dated wooden lamps

And a tamborine,

That made no sound because

It had no jingles,

Only leather cords hanging

In braids, when shaken

They made no noise at all,

In someone’s storage shed.

Choka

In my dream last night I was a worker who was part of a cleanup team that cleared out and cleaned up houses that had been recently vacated for some reason, perhaps by people moving away or from them passing on from this life.

In this one particular scene I and others in my group, who I don’t know, no one was revealed to me, came upon a storage shed that was filled with old, quality made, wooden objects, like hand carved lamps and such. One of my companions wondered if the people would be returning to take these items as they seemed to be of value, but though they were beautifully carved wood they were outdated, and I thought that might be the reason they were left behind.

At the end of the shelf I saw a tambourine, and when I picked it up it made no sound. I saw it was because it had no jingles, only braided leather ropes hanging down. I swished it back and forth but it was silent.

Then I awoke and am now pondering what this dream might mean, either for me or someone else.

One thought I had was that instruments or objects weren’t being used for the purpose they’d been created for.

The tambourine wasn’t meant to be silent. It’s jingles we’re missing rendering it useless, but why it had leather braids is still a mystery to me…

Also, the fine quality carved wood lamps were not being used for the purpose they were created for. They were being hidden in a storage unit, sitting idle in a shelf, not showing the beautiful workmanship of their creator and not shining their light as they were supposed to do.

Hmmmm… interesting thoughts…

(I tried drawing as best I could the images I saw in my dream, also now wondering if the carved diamond shapes have any meaning…)

Your comments are welcomed. Any thoughts??

Thank you.

Tanka

Ordinary Objects

Posted on April 8, 2020April 8, 2020 by Leonas Lines

Dinner plate, knife, fork

During quarantine

Learning the value of our

Ordinary objects

Cookbooks, ovens, dinner plates

Become familiar

Tanka

I grew up in a time when people rarely ate out, at least those I knew. My family always ate meals at home around our big Formica kitchen table where conversation was shared along with mom’s wonderful home cooking.

I learned to cook and bake from my mom and aunt, most of my friends did also. It was just an ordinary part of life back then.

High School had Home Ec classes and Shop classes as part of our learning experience, to prepare us for living as adults.

There were some restaurants, but our family rarely ate out. A treat for us was to occasionally eat a light supper out on a Friday night shopping trip downtown at Woolworth’s lunch counter. We would order toasted egg salad sandwiches with pickles on the side and potato chips. As we waited for our food we would watch what was called the “dumb waiter” open and close as it carried food up and dish tubs down as the kitchen was downstairs from the counter above.

So cooking my meals at home during this time of quarantine has not been a big change for me at all, as that is what I usually do anyhow. I feel it tastes better and is less costly to do so, although I do occasionally like to order a pizza or sub sandwich at a local restaurant as a treat.

But many people during this time of virus, are having to learn to cook as they stay home in quarantine. It is a new experience for them as they were accustomed to frequently eating out. They are now sharing recipes and pictures of their dinner creations on Facebook. The family dinner table is being restored, and ordinary things like ovens, and mixing bowls, are being used again.

That is the good I see coming out in all of this. That is the part of this I hope has some lasting effect, as immediate families grow closer together and spend more quality time at home, and life slows down to bring appreciation of ordinary things.

NaPiWriMo Day 8–Prompt: Ordinary Things