Seeing Elephants

photo by Kesara Rathnayake

I don’t usually remember my dreams, but a recent dream was so absurd that I woke up and recorded it in my journal:

I saw a man and his wife in my neighborhood out walking with their baby in a stroller. A baby elephant walked alongside them. Very odd. I asked him why there was an elephant with him, and we had a discussion about why I thought it was a bad idea. Can’t remember the exact conversation, but I thought it might make a good writing prompt.

Me: I see you are walking with an elephant.

Man: Yes.

Where did it come from?

I really don’t know. It showed up on my doorstep.  

 I see. Well, we have something in common. I am having a dream of this exact elephant. Are you going to keep him?

It is not a question of keeping him. I will take care of him as long as he continues to follow us. He seems to have chosen us.

Wouldn’t it be wise if you called an authority like a zookeeper? Maybe you could see if a zoo nearby is missing an elephant. I mean are you willing to bear the expense of caring for such a large animal?

It is my duty to bear the expense.

If it was me, I’d call the zoo. Do you know anything about the needs of an elephant? You should call an authority.

Elephants are wise. He has chosen me for a reason. You are very worried about a problem that does not concern you. You must leave this dream at once.

Hey, buddy, this dream chose me just as the elephant chose you. As a dream symbol this elephant may represent something important. I’m staying in this dream until it makes sense to me. Step aside and let me talk to the elephant. I’ll see if he knows why we are here.

The man stands back, and the baby elephant speaks! (That’s right. The elephant talks now. Writing prompts are even sillier than dreams.)

Me: Excuse me, Elephant Baby, Do you represent an obstacle in my life that I need to address?

Elephant: Yes. Anything is possible.

Okay. Why do you say that?

Anything is possible.

 Again. Please explain.

You are having a dream in which anything is possible. And you are having a hard time believing that anything is possible. You tell me why I’m here.

You are not real. I will wake up. You’ll be gone.

Anything is possible.

You mean if I allow myself to dream, anything is possible?

Bingo!


For comment, do you ever dream about elephants?

Hidden Muse

 



 

Wall art by Chase Toboni

If you’re in need of inspiration clean out a closet. Recently we installed carpeting in our house and that meant clearing the floor in our closets. Years ago, one wall we never had the heart to paint over was in my son’s room. Chase, at age four, had a passion for scribbling, and we decided to give him the inside of a closet wall for his doodles. While he doodled he seemed to be at peace.      

Chase has a mild form of autism and repetitious activities are the norm. Coloring seemed something he could do. Rainbows, in particular, appealed to him. He drew them religiously, and who could not be pleased when viewing a child’s rendition of a rainbow? Birthdays, holidays, and gifts for no other seeming reason than to announce to the world that he was among us. What a simple thing to give someone, an upside-down smile of happiness.

Years later, in high school, a teacher suggested he join a ceramics class. Chase seemed to have an interest in art, and his teacher had caught on. Art calmed him down. It was one way he could be included in a normal classroom. He seemed to enjoy clay and he produced these ornamental objects. They may look a bit ungainly but they are expressions of the soul, just like any creation.

I proudly displayed these objects for a time, but later wrapped them in newspaper and stashed them away in a paper bag marked Chase’s sculptures. These few forays into the art world also produced a brown mask-like sculpture of me, which I put outside in a planter box, but it later broke. According to my son, it was me in the morning, my hair all scraggly coming out the sides of my face like short ribbons of mud. He called the piece, “Mom’s Hair.” Good subject, bad look for me. That’s how it ended up outside. Wish I had stashed it in the closet too for safe-keeping.   

Chase in 10th grade with his ceramic pieces.

Spring Snapshots

Photo by Barbara Toboni

The sun’s embrace triggering one’s shoulders to unwind

Windows so clean I can’t tell if I am standing inside or outside

Hummingbird playing in the spray of my sprinklers

Dazzling orange lilies and pink frilled azaleas blooming on my back porch

Tabby cat scratching her back in the pebbled dust of the vegetable garden  

A fragrant fusion of rose, lavender, and jasmine while out for a stroll 

The remembered scent of Grandma’s towels washed in Sweetheart Soap
and hung out on a line to dry

Snacking on a ripe, creamy, avocado

Tasting a ripe mango and dreaming of a sunny locale far away

First drive of the season out to the coast along with the first sighting

of the sea and its magnificence


HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Inspiration: It's All Around Us

Inspiration is all around us. It comes to me through my senses, seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting, and smelling, it is what moves me to pick up a pen. Inspiration sends goose-bumps up my arms or chills down my spine. It is a fleeting thing and I have to take notice before it is gone.

For example: After my mother had been dead many years, I came across her perfume in a department store. The familiar scent brought back vivid memories. “My mother was in that bottle…” I later wrote in a poem.

Another poem was inspired by an image. “Three beach girls spin by on bikes… legs straight as stems…blond ponytails, a fan of sunflowers…descend the gravel road…” This poem led me to recall my own youth, and many joyful days spent with friends at the beach.  

Inspiration can also be an aha moment. My autistic son, Chase, ran track in high school. One day while watching him run a race I was inspired to write the story, “Track Star.” Chase was a proud member of the varsity track team. He told anyone that would listen that he was a track star. My aha moment comes at the end of the story. “…Chase walks to the bleachers and sits down. I hear him tell one of the kids, ‘I run varsity. I’m a track star.’ The kid smiles at Chase. I smile because he kept running right to the end. This time he finished almost last, but there would be more races. The kids who come in last learn the hardest lessons—how to run against the odds.”

Inspiration can come in conversation. A friend and I had attended a poetry event at our local library. Speakers stood at a podium set in front of a floor-to-ceiling window. The audience had a view of the vineyard beyond the glass. A little bunny hopped about while we listened to each poet read. Later I told my friend that I had enjoyed the program both the poets and the bunny. “The Poet and the bunny, what a wonderful title for a children’s story,” my friend said. I agreed and used the title later for a picture book project.    

Nature is a great source of inspiration. I often take walks down a nearby vineyard lane. To feel the warming sun, to hear birds call, or see a field turned bright with yellow mustard. That is all I need for inspiration. It’s waiting just outside my door.

What inspires you?