Reflections

Seated on her wooden rocking chair, she looked out the far window.  A wide, red spruce’s trunk dominated the view.  The squirrels screeched and posed like fluffy stuffed animals.  Next to the window was the mahogany staircase that she admired now for the umpteenth time.  The stone fireplace, unused but ever appreciated, served as an intriguing backdrop for the playful Bengal tigers.  A poster of Zeus in a dark jacket presided over the room, far removed from its start at a Seattle performance of Wagner’s Der Ring. The low glass table top was bare, save for a wide vase of shells, carefully chosen from far flung beaches.  Her eyes tipped upward toward the painting on papyrus paper, a line-up of Egyptian deities that sported animal heads over their human bodies and kept their secrets safe in the bordering hieroglyphics.  She was content not to know everyone’s secrets.  The Easter Lily sat on an end table and put forth a sensuous perfume.  She closed her eyes to better focus on the fragrance.  She felt at peace.  When she opened her eyes, her gaze found the trio of miniature musicians, molded brass figures, attired in Ashanti garb.  Perhaps they appreciate the squirrels’ accompaniment, sounding like an Ethiopian ululation?  Glancing back toward the window, her attention flitted between an Aboriginal’s colorful painting of a wallaby and a Thai shadow puppet.  She smiled.  So many years and so many memories surrounded her.  Looking up at Zeus, she raised her glass and toasted, “To our retirement home.”

TATTOO—Journeys on My Mind by Tina Marie L. Lamb is available at Amazon and BarnesandNoble and iBooks and Audible.

Buy it. Read it. (Or listen to it.) Let me know what you think. –TMLL