Wednesday, May 24, 2006

work, ethel, and another package

looong day yesterday, verrry long. after my usual morning class from 8.30 to 12.30, i taught "my" senior citizens one last time, from 1 to 4. a bit tough since i had a headache from about 11 until 4 - blah! i had a couple of hours until the two english classes; they're not mine, but their teacher kathi is away this week. with the first group, the theme was australian animals, especially the dangerous ones (of which there are plenty) - it was fun. the second class seemed to enjoy the quiz lesson as well. i was pretty knackered after all that teaching, and all these hours in stuffy rooms. today, just my usual class, and then an afternoon with gudrun, catching up, and a look around a few shops. i hate shopping at the moment, i need a few more summer clothes, but i really can't be bothered. saw a nice pair of shoes, but of course they did not have them in my size. sigh. actually, i saw a couple more nice pairs of shoes, but the prices are appalling. not too long ago, you used to get three pairs for that kind of money.

so, since i told arlene i had written an ethel poem (part of the neverending and increasingly successful, er, um, increasingly weird nigel series), she asked me suggested demanded that i let her see the new addition, so i thought i might as well post it here:

Ethel rolls cigarettes under the railroad bridge

one for each smile she has not dared to offer
that girl who seems too gritty for angel wings,
no matter what her six letters proclaim:

half of them angular, too sober for secrets,
three suggesting soft limbs. From Ethel's lips,
her name melts into thin white paper;

it will go up in smoke thirteen times, hide
in wobbly rings stretching towards Angela -
uncertified goddess, unspoiled territory.

A strange desire will nest in her black hair,
drive her from the quiet house sniffing out
another woman's scent, the dark moon silent.

Yes, Ethel whispers, she'll find me and
wake beneath tobacco-sweetened fingertips.
After our first kiss, she'll turn the other cheek.
so there.

speaking of arlene - i found a BIIIIG package in my mailbox containing two poetry zines (carousel, rattle) and a cute little notebook for yet more nigel-related adventures! so: HUGE THANKS to angelic angela arlene ellen ang! (and no i won't post photos of the zines' new home, new friends, or me kissing them!) actually - italian mail servies outdid themselves. i've never heard of anything posted in italy that actually arrives in another country within a week, let alone a couple of days!

cool here today, which is nice after all the stuffiness yesterday. public holiday tomorrow, which is NICE. sepp's going to his parents', i'll follow on friday, straight after work. unfortunately the forecast isn't too great, but what can you do. we already postponed it once, so we are going.

song of the day: the other end of the telescope, aimee mann & elvis costello. love it.

14 comments:

Jeannine said...

I could onlye believe in one thing...the sky was just phosphorous stars hung on strings
and you swore that they'd always be mine...
like you could pull them down anytime..

michi said...

eeexactly. :)
m

word verification KRTEI - a hidden cretin?

lorguru said...

Wonderful Ethel poem, michi. Thanks for sharing.
Sorry about your bad day yesterday...at least you have a holiday to look forward to!
Enjoy the reading! Sounds great.
(my word verivication is meejl...rhymes with...______!
-laur

michi said...

lauren - it was not really a bad day, just a loooooooooooooooooooooooong one. but i had a few successful and fun lessons - never easy to teach groups you don't know. so i was tired but not unhappy. *S*

glad you enjoyed good old ethel.

thanks for visiting again!

imyows,
m

Arlene said...

toot toot!! that was really *fast*, michi. and now that you mentioned it, i want a picture of you kissing at least one magazine. teehee.

and wheeee!! for the ethel poem. it's sweet and kinky. hee. might be a nice fit for bimagazine.org. had some poems published there... and jayne pupek's there, too who's a superb poet (not sure if you've met her at 30:30).

hahahahaha!! of course they wouldn't have your shoe size -- nigel beat you to that last pair. you certainly have the same tastes. tsktsk.

i know what you mean about prices though. i thought it was only here in italy that everything doubled its price ever since the euro started.

a

michi said...

arlene - the difference between nigel and me is that only one of us wears high heels; and it's not me. ;-)

that's the shoe i liked.

upavdjt, m

Arlene said...

hahahahaha!!

and OMG. ethel was wearing the SAME shoes!! i should know because --ahem-- i was with her under the railroad bridge... turning the other cheek (i'll let your mind roam over *which* cheek it was, dirty you).

floxxwg,
a.

Unknown said...

ugh, the shoes! they are expensive and ugly!

michi said...

jenni - which ones? the ones i linked to above? that was the pair i liked. most had really high heels and i simply cannot wear them. will never learn to walk in them, not that i'm sorry. i find high heels terribly uncomfortable, and when they're too high, also not very pretty. anything over 2 inches is hurting me just by looking at it. *G*
i definitely am a woman without a show fetish, without the need to buy a new pair every week. i am a woman who finds most manolo blahniks ridiculous (see sex and the city). there, i've said it.
m

SarahJane said...

love the ethel poem. i can't think of ethel without ethanol, apparently both flammable.

i love that aimee mann song, too.

Pris said...

Hey, I loved that poem, too!

And I can't wear heels at all. Stopped back when I was in my thirties. I'd injured my back and walking on a tilt all the time didn't help it. Since I've worn flat shoes it's been such a relief, and pretty ones can be found for nicer occasions.

Unknown said...

No, not those shoes you linked!(I don't even see a link. . .) I was thinking of the ones I saw while shopping.

michi said...

jenni, the link was in a comment of mine in reply to someone else's:
http://www.humanic.at/media/schuhe/1065_full.jpg

had another look around a few shops, nothing that i NEEDED to have. lots of horrible shoes though. ugh.

bought trekking shoes - but that's a slightly different category ... ;)

m

Unknown said...

Oh see now I think those are cute! i still havent found any. . .

:(