Monday, March 08, 2010

To celebrate International Women's Day,

I have posted Maya Angelou's poem "Phenomenal Woman" over on the sidebar - and there's a new flower over there, too!  Baby steps.

Not long ago, I received a gift from my little sister - a string of jet beads from which hangs a pendant called "Simple Joy." The pendant is hand-painted, kiln annealed fused glass - (so advises its creator, Lisa Orr.)

The design on the pendant, (mostly) black on a white background, features a nude woman squatting on the ground under a red umbrella.  All around her, black rain is falling, but she is sheltered. From her safe place, she reaches out with one hand to feel the raindrops.

The necklace has become a symbol, for me, of my fear of exposing myself -- a lifelong problem, not one that arose in the last few weeks -- my tendency to reach out and feel the rain on my hand, then hurry back under my shell. This is a major problem for anyone who aspires to write. I know that there is nothing to fear in the rain, that it nourishes the ground on which I stand, and that -- when it comes right down to it -- the shelter I think I have is illusory. I am still naked, still visible under the bright umbrella.

The pendant also symbolizes, for me, my renewed effort to come out into the rain, however hesitantly. I've been wearing it a lot of the time, to remind myself that the woman holds the umbrella and has the power to raise or lower it at will.

My sister's pretty smart, eh?

6 comments:

Karen said...

Your necklace image is the writer in me, too. I blog so I won't have to discuss my writing with anyone in real life because I want to be protected from the rain.

Hugs, Sandra.

The Clever Pup said...

Great poem!!! A great poem for building self-esteem any day of the year. I love it. Wish I found it first.

Kathryn Magendie said...

How lovely - that image of your pendant, and of you....

Unknown said...

The Maya Angelou poem is wonderful--hang in there with the writing--you have a lot to offer!

Anonymous said...

Yes, she is very smart and so is HER sister!! ; )

The necklace sounds lovely and love the M A. poem--beautiful!!!

RLM Cooper said...

Real life can be cruel. On the other hand, real life gave me Sandra. :)