Friday, December 21, 2012

Memories of a B & B

 
 
Our guests (God love 'em) say the darndest things. Recently, two of them surpassed all expectations and wrote two poems about their experience of Nelson House B & B and the Shangri-La suite.
 
Since it is Christmastime, I would like to share their gifts with you. Both poets have kindly extended their permissions but please accept my apologies for any damage done in selecting from the whole. For those of you who have stayed with us, these poems may stir some memories.
 
The following is an excerpt from a piece entitled The House by Don MacLean.
 
" Confidently sitting like a pampered prince, The grey-blue wood frame home, shoulder to shoulder with the towering high-rises, three stories of Victorian splendor, our writing retreat in town for the weekend, on the top floor....
We passed through
a black wrought-iron double gate.
Wide steps rose
to a carved oak door,
and a protective
grey and white cat
challenging us to come forward.
 
...Second floor, a thousand miles
away from the first,
water chimes by a vine-adorned window,
captivating to my partner,
who stops for three minutes meditation, I watch her watch the floating chimes, and
feel warm at her stillness.
Old photos of old people,
sepia images in one dimensional poses,
stories of the past imagined for a minute, there on the second floor, carpets everywhere
to absorb the city noises.
 
Third floor is though a smaller attic door, steeper stairs, narrower staircase, slightly mysterious, very quiet."
 
And by Lisa Shatzky, a small portion of her beautiful poem, The Room at Nelson House.
 
"But for a moment there was nothing else
but the memory of the room where we stayed, walking up the long narrow staircase to an open attic hideaway, a chamber extraordinaire burgundy walls and east Indian books and a bamboo sofa and two paper dragons hanging from the ceiling facing us with their fire eyes and wild tongues.
We spent the day writing...
And the room became an inner journey
to a sacred place
revealing the hidden labyrinths of being and we stayed by the fire sharing the poems over wine and chocolate...
 
The room then gathered us in her arms
and danced us into the night
and the poems grew wings
and joined the dragons
flying..."
 
My best wishes for the holidays and may the new year bring you all much peace and happiness.
 
David
 

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