Thursday, December 9, 2010

Dogleg

Roads take us where we want to go, and sometimes where we don't want to go. There are usually interesting twists and turns along the way. Dogleg turns.






When I began reading "Dogleg" by Kay Ryan, US Poet Laureate 2008-2010, I wondered at the simplicity of the first words and thoughts. Then, like its title, the poem took a dogleg turn that pulled it toward the more serious stuff of life and pulled my mind toward the turns that life sometimes takes.




"Dogleg"

Birds' legs
do of course
all dogleg
giving them
that bounce.
But these are
not normal odds
around the house.
Only two of
the dog's legs
dogleg and
two of the cat's.
Fifty-fifty: that's
as bad as it
gets usually,
despite the
fear you feel
when life has
angled brutally.

There's a big red bin in the library. The sign attached to it declares "Chesapeake CAN Do," and people are encouraged to bring in non-perishable items for the Food Bank. Various other organizations around Hampton Roads are collecting food or coats or blankets or shoes or other items that might not be plentiful in the lives of some residents of this area. See the brutal dogleg angle life sometimes takes? See the need for the dogleg bounce of birds?

When people start their adult life journey, usually hope abounds. The future lies ahead - wide open and promising. Fifty-fifty - that's as bad as it gets, usually. At that point in life, we think our odds for happiness and success are far greater than fifty-fifty. Somewhere along the way though, sometimes fate takes a swipe at us. A brutally angled dogleg. And we deal with it... but how?

How we deal with failures, unhappiness, and poor health - as well as successes and joy - tells us about ourselves. Remember the story of the military man who returned home to his young wife after suffering devastating losses in the war. No arms; no legs. He astounded the medical community by adapting so well to his prosthetic limbs that he participates in races now. His wife says when she looks at him, she doesn't see what is missing, but rather what is still there for them to share. When their lives "angled brutally," they found the dogleg bounce of Kay Ryan's birds that allowed them to rebound and find hope.

We remember Elizabeth Edwards and her courageous battle with cancer. Her books "Resilience: Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of Facing Life's Adversities" and "Saving Graces: Finding Solace and Strength from Friends and Strangers," both allow the reader a peek at the positive, hopeful ways she chose to deal with the brutal angles of her life. Knowing her time left with family and friends was coming to a close, she posted these words on her Facebook page:



"You all know that I have been sustained throughout my life by three saving graces - my family, my friends, and a faith in the power of resilience and hope. These graces have carried me through difficult times and they have brought more joy to the good times than I ever could have imagined. The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful. It isn't possible to put into words the love and gratitude I feel towards everyone who has and continues to support and inspire me every day. To you I simply say: you know."

Her life had many twists and turns, but her attitude remained positive to the end. She took the dogleg turns and found the bounce needed to support and inspire others.

The Novel Ladies Book Club meets at Russell Memorial Library monthly. Last November, the club discussed "Winter Garden" by Kristin Hannah and had the opportunity to chat via telephone with the author. The novel is set in modern-day United States, but much of it is a flashback told through "fairy tales" of the main character's (Anya's) life during the Russian Revolution. Through these fairy tales, the reader sees the horrors that took place and the resolve that was necessary for people to survive. Anya's father, a poet, is taken away by "the shiny black carriage drawn by six black dragons," and is never seen again.

At that time in Russia, poets were seen as dissidents, people who had the ability to inspire others with their words. In the fairy tales Anya told her daughters, the rulers found the poet's words incendiary and had him "removed."



Kristin Hannah closes her novel with an excerpt from "Poems of Akhmatova," a collection of poetry by Anna Akhmatova, (pen name for Anna Andreyevna Gorenko), one of the greatest Russian poets of the 20th century whose work was banned from being published from 1925 to 1952 and who was herself imprisoned for her writing. Her life had many twists and turns, but somehow she was able to find the dogleg bounce needed to rebound and write again.

"No foreign sky protected me,
no stranger's wing shielded my face.
I stand as witness to the common lot,
survivor of that time, that place."
from "Poems of Akhmatova"


The next Poetry, Prose, and Pizza Open Mic Night at Russell Memorial Library is Friday, January 7, at 6:45 pm. We promise that none of the participants need worry about being "removed" or imprisoned as the fictitious poet in Winter Garden and the very real poet Akhmatova were. In fact, poets will be welcomed and supported by host Nathan Richardson and the audience. No reservation is needed to participate; just come to Russell Memorial Library, 2808 Taylor Road, in Chesapeake. Plan to step up to the mic and share your poetry or prose (suitable for a family audience) with other poetry lovers. Everyone will have the extra treat of enjoying pizza, compliments of Mr. Gayle Mayo and Rita's Pizza. It's a Friday night and the entertainment and pizza are free - life is good!

As you watch the people around you and listen to them, you just might discover that those whose lives have been filled with many brutal angles have also learned to laugh, to cope, to love deeper, to appreciate the simple beauty of a smile, and to become determined to rebound with a dogleg bounce in quite another direction.




























































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































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