by Faith H.
Member since:
November 17, 2005

Blanket A Heart

July 30, 2007 09:32 PM EDT
views: 119 | comments: 27

Four stair step girls, baby cheeks and blonde

play in an army blanket tent in the living room

under the card table and call it camping out.

 

The itchy green wool smells like father

cigarettes and old spice mixed with sweat

a scent only a hero daddy brings home.

 

Later, that blanket, spread on sugar white sand

hotter than summer sun and scratchy still

anchors a family to the picnic and the love.

 

Years pass, a thin green blanket greets a daughter

lost in a dorm room and a crazy love

wiping away almost grown-up fears and tears.

 

She’s clung to many illusions and half truths since

thoughts that perhaps a soft old army blanket

might solve a world problem or two.

 

 

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Comments: 27

David C. Jul 30, 2007, 9:44pm EDT
good one faith. I like the image of "sugar white sand"
Bart H. Jul 30, 2007, 9:50pm EDT
Linus Rules!

Of COURSE there is mystical power in an old blanket.
If it were not so, why do we all know instinctively what you are talking about?

Isn't it funny, though, how blankets and smells are intertwined
with, perhaps the smell being the more mystical?

I think I finally get it:
I believe your talent, your art, is juxtaposing concepts.....
and as soon as you do, we all leap to express that
which springs forth from within ourselves.

Well done.
Faith H. Jul 30, 2007, 9:54pm EDT
David, thank you, the sugar white sands can be found from Panama City Beach to Pensacola Beach. Lovely soft stuff.

Bart, our comfort, our touchstone...a blankie and the scents that remind us of parents long ago. You got it!
(and you deserve that spot on Mt. Rushmore for that)
Dannielle S. Jul 30, 2007, 10:05pm EDT
I was never fond of fragrances -- my father's aftershave or mom's perfume were usually reasons to keep my distance from them -- but I recall the green and red wool blankets that covered my brothers' beds, and loved that my sons slumbered under those same blankets, years later.

The warmth and comfort of blankets and favorite memories are right here. Nice job, Faith.
Faith H. Jul 30, 2007, 10:21pm EDT
Dannielle, thanks, glad you got some memory pictures from this.

Rose, thanks. I've tried to bring that universality to my recent pieces and it seems to be working. You make me blush with that excellent thing. High cotton praise!
Madame Donna C. Jul 31, 2007, 12:46am EDT
Faith, I wish I had a photo of my dad's old army blanket to show you. It wasn't the issued blanket; it was a blanket my aunt's made for him. It was comprised of triangles of wool fabric and they quilted it, sent it to him even though he was stationed in the tropics and he kept it with him until he died. Whenever I became ill, he said, "let me get you the army blanket." and it always eased my ailments.

Suffice to say, your words struck a strong chord with me and that's what is important, to me, about poetry. You did a fine job conveying a clear sentiment.
Minakshi w. Jul 31, 2007, 3:13am EDT
Faith, you really know how to conjure up memories of parents and growing up under a father's protective hand. I find this poem so sensitive, it makes me want to sit quietly and think of all those innocent days spent with my Dad.
elizabeth e. Jul 31, 2007, 3:49am EDT
"Four stair step girls" hooked me right away since we were three stair steps...and what memories flooded back...all sleeping in the same bed, wrestling matches in the kitchen, and forbidden swims in the pond when adults were not home. Universal thoughts you conveyed.
Faith H. Jul 31, 2007, 9:17am EDT
Mme. Donna, I'm glad this reached you in a special way about your special father. It was scent that brought me back to these memories also. Thank you.

Minnie, I did alot of reminiscing while working on this piece. May your thoughts be pleasant ones. Thanks for reading.

And Bob, dear, yes your stair step sisters and mine had a world of innocent fun way back when, thank you for your kind thoughts.
Linda K. Jul 31, 2007, 4:53pm EDT
Faith, this was a lovely poem. I smiled throughout and longed for something long gone. My daughter took her blankie to college and my grandbaby has an extra one at my house.
John F Walter Jul 31, 2007, 6:13pm EDT
The way you´ve swirled into this blanket so many past smells of the familiar, of family and father and love, makes it into a complex symbol as well as memory trigger in this poem that speaks directly to the feelings that keep us in the world, anchor us there, as the imaginary swaddling comfort we need to carry us forward, as well as the mystified beliefs that also emerge from the sensorium of a single preserved article of the heart.

An intuitive gift of remembrance and loss, Faith, this poem seems to me.
Tonia, who hugs trees G. Jul 31, 2007, 6:26pm EDT
Years after my mother died I received a shawl of hers that had been in storage. When I first opened the box the scent of her sandalwood perfume surrounded me and made me feel as if she was right there. For a long time I wrapped myself in that shawl at night when I went to sleep and felt as if I was being held by my mother. This poem brings all that back to me so strongly.
Faith H. Jul 31, 2007, 7:28pm EDT
I never dreamed I would open up such sensory memories for all my dear friends here with this personal yet universal poem.

John, as always, you give my work honor by your delightful interpretation.

Tonia, big HUGS to you and your mother memories which I know you hold dear. Comfort is found in such things.
I've never had a blanket memory, but my kids have. You made me see the crocheted pink and white blocks from my daughter's first "big girl bed" that she now uses in her own daughter's crib. You made me see the quilted "bidette" with the tattered silk edges that actually made its' way to Hawaii with my other daughter on her honeymoon.

Wonderfully, wonderfully done.
Barbary Chaapel Jul 31, 2007, 10:08pm EDT
My dog had his own blankie. When we went away and had to board Rusty the
boarder would always say to be sure to bring one of our old blankets so he could scent us.

Lovely poem, Faith. You've captured our memories with it.
Tonia, who hugs trees G. Jul 31, 2007, 10:40pm EDT
p.s. I featured this in Gathering on Common Ground
Ah, Faith, this conjures up your childhood memories of safe and innocent times and transports me there. I can smell the tobacco and Old Spice aftershave in the green blanket tent- and then there I am with you at a family picnic on the beach.

If only my childhood had actually been like that.

Your concluding verse:

She's clung to many illusions and half truths since

thoughts that perhaps a soft old army blanket

might solve a world problem or two.

contains a great truth: what a far better world it would be if there was the safety and love evoked by that old army blanket of the heart.

Truly a lovely poem about the innocence found in love. Ten stars from me, my friend.
Faith H. Aug 1, 2007, 9:27am EDT
Ida, thank you! Tonia, I had forgotten that I posted this at your group, I appreciate the feature.

Barbary, I remember taking a blanket when our little daschunds had to be boarded, it is soothing for them to keep a scent of home. Thank you for your kind compliment.
Faith H. Aug 1, 2007, 9:29am EDT
Magi, my dear friend, I too wish your childhood had been as good as mine. But look at the fine person you are now! Thank you for your encouragement as I stumble through the poetry learning curve.

Marianne, so sweet of you to stop here and read and enjoy! Thank you.
mona d. Aug 1, 2007, 4:06pm EDT
i love its trip through time, and through the hands of so many loved ones. like others, it reminds me of an old blanket in our house - my grandfather's scratchy olive drab wooly from wwii. many generations of cats have loved sleeping on it, and still do!
Faith, my friend, you are well past the stumbling stage - you are flying!
amanda wallin Aug 2, 2007, 7:17am EDT
Scent is the sense closest tied to memory and you evoke so many in this poignant poem spanning a lifetime. Brilliant!
Faith H. Aug 2, 2007, 8:10pm EDT
Oh, now I'm really getting teary, Mona, Liz, amanda...thank you all so much for connecting to this piece. Yikes...

Steve, I'm sure your daughter can tell a whole story connected to your touch, your smell, your smile. Hugs.
Diana Raabe Aug 10, 2007, 7:19pm EDT
What a memory! I love how you tied in up into that old blanket. This is really wonderful, Faith - very touching.
Kylee S. Aug 12, 2007, 8:29pm EDT
Lovely, shows how important material things can be to an individual.
Shelbia C. Sep 15, 2008, 8:54pm EDT
I really like this.

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