Way back in January my writing group did an exercise. We were to do a free write off of Diane Levertov's Come into Animal Presence. After reading little-whip's article on zoos and the subsequent discussion, I decided to post this. Thanks to little-whip for starting a really good discussion and to Diane Levertov for the prompt. Do you feel that zoos are sacred? Or crimes against the sacred? Everyday we ignore wildlife Because it is our own and We pay to see someone else's that They so...

The Fortune Teller The fortune teller emerged from the draperies that formed her stall. She had been working county fairs and Renaissance festivals and Earth Day celebrations since she was old enough to rebel against the bra as a "male invention designed to subjugate women." Her long brown hair had only a very few silver threads and it accentuated her pleasantly horsy face. She wore Indian broomstick skirts and Birkenstocks. She draped herself in shawls and beads and bangles. A moonstone w...

She runs a bath to the bottom of the overflow valve with water just on the edge of too hot. She lights the candles on the vanity and lowers herself into the tub. She lies absolutely still for what could be a minute or it could be a half hour. There is no sound but the occasional plop from the end of the faucet and the intermittent sighs that are her substitute for sobbing or screaming. At length, she lathers up her leg and shaves it. Slow motion strokes. This long white leg. The shaving ritua...

Lily remembered the first night she came to work here over a year ago. She was still working on her degree and money from Derek had dried up. Her first night, she walked up and knocked on the door eager to begin, eager to make a good impression. Darlene, a large woman with no top teeth, wearing Sponge Bob Square Pants scrubs, greeted her. “Libby Costello?” “Lily. Yes.” “Right. Come on in. I’m Darlene. I’ll show you the ropes.” “Great. I’m really excited about this. I graduate in May fro...

The ring of the Blackberry startled Lily. It was after midnight, but she was still up—would be for a couple of hours yet. The caller ID read “Azalea”. Lily knew what she would hear on the other end. “Lily? It’s me.” “Zaya, what’s wrong?” Lily asked. Azalea had pronounced her name “Zaya” as a baby and the nickname had stuck. Now only Lily called her that. “Can you meet me at Denny’s for a soda?” “Baby, I don’t want to leave the kids. Why don’t you just come over here?” “Because I’m alread...

“Did everyone sign in? Good.” Sandy stood in the living room of Capable Living’s headquarters. The employees sat on the furniture or the floor depending on who arrived before whom. Sandy stared at her clipboard for several minutes before she began, “Capable Living has changed hands. The parent company Sunny View sold Capable Living to an HMO out of Wausau. The new owners are bringing in their own caregivers for the second shift.” There was a general outcry. Lily raised her hand, “Sandy you...

Lily couldn’t talk to Azalea right now; she wanted to kick Azalea right in the ass. Sam had pulled up at 6:30 that morning and honked the horn. Azalea had scooped up Susie and run out to him. Violet would be full of advice and Iris would rail. She needed somebody reasonable to talk to. “Hello, Mother. Is Dad around?” “Yes he is, Lily, why do you want him?” Lily really did not need “the Drama from the Mama” right now. “I have an investment question.” “On the Sabbath?” “Can I talk to D...

Lily was at the sink when Derek came in, slipped his arms around her waist and started nibbling her neck. “Did you come home for a little matinee d’amour?” she asked. “If that’s French for a nooner, then yes.” He took her hands and led her upstairs. Their choreography had been developed over thirteen years of marriage. Twenty minutes later the phone rang. Arthur’s office was on the caller ID. “Don’t answer that!” Derek said a little too sharply. “It’s Dad. Maybe they need you back at ...

“Here Honey, I circled these for you.” Iris handed Lily the Help Wanted ads in the Sunday Press-Gazette. “Wow, Iris, that’s great! I lost my job less than five hours ago and you’ve already found me a new one. Here’s the muffin tin I borrowed; it’s been in my car for weeks. So who ratted me out?” “Mother called. I’m just trying to help. Heaven knows you can’t count on Derek to come through.” “Can we let Derek off the hook for this one?” “Well if he was working, you and the kids would be s...

“Lily, we need you to come in to work right away.” Lily sat on the edge of her bed with one leg trying to wriggle into her pantyhose with her Blackberry clamped between her ear and her shoulder. “Sandy, I’m on my way out the door for church. Can’t you get someone else? What about Darlene; she’s always looking for more hours.” “Darlene will be here.” “Well, what do you need me for? The clients will be on family visits.” “Lily, I am not at liberty to discuss this over the phone. We are hav...

Camellia was a dancer. She rose through the corps de ballet and became a soloist with the Chicago Ballet. This is where Arthur Rose first saw her and felt a powerful sense of déjà vu. When she appeared at church the very next morning, he knew that she would be his wife. Sometimes Arthur thought that she had married him for his floral surname. It was only when she was dancing that he glimpsed the ecstasy of which she was capable. Camellia Rose continued to dance until the first pregnancy showe...

“You can’t afford me. I’m moving to Arizona to live with Dad.” Jared had barely allowed Lily to get out of the car in Violet’s driveway before he made this announcement. This she did not need. “Stow it, Jared. You can express your adolescent angst later.” She knew it was the wrong way to deal with him. Parenting experts would be appalled. Too bad. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he countered. Lily bent so that her nose was nearly brushing his and growled, “Look it up.” Which of course mad...

Lily scheduled a working lunch with Arthur to crunch numbers and to get his advice. That evening, she discussed with Anna and Jared her decision to take the job. As expected, Jared was petulant and Anna tried to compensate by being perfect and perky. Anna’s hands were getting chapped from too much washing, but that was a worry for another day. The following Sunday, she summoned “the fam” for dinner and cards so she could break the news. As expected, everybody already knew. “Well, I think i...

The swimming season in Lake Michigan is very short. Young Frank rarely wasted a day of it. Frank’s father decided to build him the pool house when he realized that his son was not only enthusiastic about swimming, he was also fast. The pool house was a great glass greenhouse that not only housed potted citrus trees and other food producing plants, it also contained a beautiful black and white tiled swimming pool. It was the length of a competition pool but only about six feet wide. That was...