Friday, October 26, 2007

Room for rent....

It's raining. Not drops or drizzles or showers. Just silvery mist left over from the night before, still falling, drifting from the sky like weightless summer snowflakes. I raise my cup of coffee and we clink! to each other, hot steamy morning cocktails on the porch. My friend and I.

For the longest time, we don't say a word. Watch the children across the street tumble out the front door, on rollerblades, two wheeled spider bikes, and bellies-to-the-pavement on makeshift skateboards. Christmas morning all over again....in their world.

We light cigarettes in sync, exhale into the mist. "Isn't if funny how we all met, came together......" she says. "Yeah.... it's weird" "And how much everything has changed" "And stayed the same" "We've watched a parade from this porch, down your drive-way, in and out of these screen doors" "Yeah....." "Its' been a good one", she said, snubbing out her 501. "I miss him"....an after thought in the rain. "Me, too."

I snub out my own cigarette, nod at the weeping sky outside the dusty screen...
"It's the butterfly"....
I know,I know, I know..... the endless butterfly effect"
"No, there she is.....dancing in the rain"
We watched her for the longest time, flitting from wet Iris blooms to the cool wet earth, and up into the palm fronds, doing adagio by herself in the morning sky.....

"I'm going home to my new husband now" she whispered, creeking the screen door open...walking barefoot out into the dampened sky....

I watched her, each step she took folding the wet grass into momentary footprints, ones that would rise and disappear when the sun came out again.

And I thought for the longest time about him. How blessed I was she married him, loved him, and how lucky I was. To have had him as my friend. And for a moment, I saw him. Standing there, leaning against the truck, smoking.... smiling, legs crossed, blue eyes cast into the rain....reminding me...

to believe....

28 comments:

skinnylittleblonde said...

Someone has to remind us, lest we forget...
I believe & ILYMTYCEI.

SpongyBones said...

WOW! ... and may the footprints in the grass and smoke rings always remain for us to see. Damn this is great!

karoline in the morning said...

i see what you mean by raining ghosts...

((singleton))

k

singleton said...

skinny...Aren't we so blessed that they always do? The waft of Nana's perfume, the sound of the wind whistling big band tunes through her back yard trees, Nadine's blue eyes....everywhere, everytime I turn around....the clinkity clink rappity rap of her tiny high heeled feetm and Joe....thinking before he speaks....before he sends the signs...watching, waiting patiently for me to remember on my own.....

Spongy....oh, and they do! There always for those of us that see, that listen, that believe....
you know.....
feel the love....

karoline....yes in the morning fog....(((k)))

peace~love
Believe

Me said...

I was just standing in the hard rain the othernight; got caught up in it on the way back from the markets. Got home and instead of changing my clothes and rying myself off I went outside and stood in it until it stopped. Haven't done that since I was a child.

Shimmerrings said...

Sweet... very sweet... damn, woman, your life is one just one beautiful poetic tale

skinnylittleblonde said...

de ja vu...
ily

singleton said...

orhan...clink! ya man! We should all do that, over and over again. We should dance in it, bask in it. The rains. And all she has to offer :)

Shimmerings...Reminds me of one of Ocean's posts...."Good luck or bad?".....isn't it all in what we make of it? I lost my friend, I gained an angel....
and I'll take the good anyday, however, it's handed out....

SLB....And Kimbies is on the same roll, de ja vu, must be in the blood
or the moon
or the way the
tides
are rollin' in tonight....
ILYSVVFM and MYM if that's even possible

Peace~love
believe......

Scott from Oregon said...

Seems like Florida children love to ride their skateboards on their bellies...

We did.

Blessed are those with memories filled with good people...

skinnylittleblonde said...

hey...remember the big foot skateboard? On the phone tonite with Kimbies... same page,indeed. Its in the spirit.

singleton said...

scott....Blessed is right! And oh, yeah, on our bellies flying down Mimosa Drive is how Kimbies took the end of her nose off! She looked like Pinocchio for the remainder of the third grade!

SLB....Ahhhh, yeah, that would be my red "Hang Ten" skate board! From Nana, from the freshly tarred rollercoaster hills of Mimosa Drive, and how it lasted into you guys......wow, they don't make 'em like they used to! clink! Sweetie! We're all on the page!

JR's Thumbprints said...

Nature and the changing of seasons has a familiar way of presenting spirits in our minds.

eric1313 said...

And that is the real effect; love staying with you through the haze and glaze of rainfall in our lives, as well as the real rain drifting down in a mist of tiny pearls.

Spirit or not, butterfly or the wind, he is there, and it's because you believe.

Clink ya big time.

Maithri said...

(((((Singleton)))))

This brings tears to my eyes.

In this life and the next may we continue to do 'adagio in the morning sky.'

What grace it takes to keep our wings open in the rain.

My deepest love to you,

Maithri

singleton said...

JR...you are so right and the changing of seasons often comes dressed in dejavu....nostalgia from fall past, summers past, but this.....
P~L

Eric....yes, he is there,.....I have always known it. There have been times I've felt almost guilty for not missing him more, and it's hard to explain, that I can only miss his lines, drawn on the porch , his colors, airbrushed on a saturday, his trinkets, freshly welded at random, but him, I always feel him....right here. Peace~love, my friend, and clink! real time


maithri...Thank you, sweet friend, but surely it was Joe whose wings were open in the rain....I merely had to look, to believe, to not deny him the gift he still shares....his friendship. I couldn't have seen him more clearly, or heard him more loudy, than if he had knocked on my kitchen door.... peace~love to you,my friend, "in this life and the next"

eric1313 said...

I was hoping you'd see that...
lololololol!...

I can't stop laughing. I'm a silly one tonight.

Think I'll go and set a butterfly free at the bar. Meet ya there.

clink!

singleton said...

Silly poet, I was cracking up! And ta!dah! how did you get the lid of that mayo jar at the bar?
peace~love~nickels

savannah said...

*hugs* just because, sugar

i beati said...

When I came to your post today , there was a delay in the neon and then it flashed !!. My computer is neon, and one phone I love it .. your post so full of memories and pathos,but I'm still stuck in pink champagneland hah thanks for your support this week, talked out and a little better . those light misting rains so comforting to the soul...

Lola Starr said...

Awwww, this makes me sad. But it's a beautiful kind of sad, remembering the good and believing.

skinnylittleblonde said...

ILYS, SVFM... you give me wings!

singleton said...

savannah.....oh, thank you! Dance on girlfriend, in high heels, low slung boots, T-straps, platforms, every color, every shade, dance on!

Ibeati....I just told Eric about this yesterday, the neon light at The Butterfly Bar did the same thing, it started flashing! They're not supposed to! How uncanny is that? Wow! Yeah, somebodys talkin'......

karma....Don't feel sad sweetie, it's all good. I didn't feel sad at all, really, I felt connected....

SLB....oh, Cinderella, dance on tonight, smile big, laugh hard, throw your head back in the wind, and feel the love! Wishing you and the world you're visiting, Magic, all the way around! ILYSVVM MED!

Peace~love~the wind..........

eric1313 said...

Up and floating around--I'll be cooking up some dinner right now, but just wanted to see if you survived your big par-tay day, Village People with butterfly wings and all...

Peace

singleton said...

eric...We had a blast! Slow moving today! Butterfly wings and all:)
peace~love

eric1313 said...

Me too, lady, me too. Cooking up some early dinner.

Talk to you soon.

singleton said...

Ahhh, man, pass the leftovers please!

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