Finding Luck & Throwing Eyelashes

This week it's Poetry Saturday in Holland, NY! We had a big snowstorm, and it interfered with our satellite. Please excuse my tardiness to the Poetry Friday party!

Eye Self-Portrait

by Georgia LV

Students - Sometimes you might find a poem or writing idea inside of an old writing piece. Today's poem grew from a two-week-old notebook entry. As you read the entry below, you might notice small snips that appear in "Finding Luck."

January 4, 2012

The day began, like many days, with a shower. A hotel shower where so many men and women I will never meet have washed their bodies, breathing deeply, readying themselves for a day ahead. As I looked to the white curtain, I could see a small eyelash curled against the fabric. Someone else's eyelash. Not mine.

In these moments, I decide and re-decide what I will say inside my own head, how I will react. A part of me wants to squeal, "Gross!" and live like my Grandpa Norman who would not stay in hotels or eat in restaurants lest he get the germs. But another side of me is superstitious. This side of me says "Pa-diddle!' and kisses a fool when I see a one-headlight car. This side punches Hope when I see a punch buggy. An eyelash? Why you throw it over your shoulder, of course.

I stood there in the shower, eyeing the tiny line of hair, thinking back to the many small eyelashes I have gently brushed from the cheeks of Hope, Georgia, and Henry, throwing them over their shoulders.

Warm water poured down my back as I heard a clear voice in my head say, "Oh, what the heck!" And I watched as my own hand gently brushed the eyelash from its curtain and threw it over my own wet shoulder.

Again, like always, I thought, "It's lucky!" and wondered if the luck would be mine or if somebody somewhere today had a wonderful day with no idea where the luck hailed from.

I would not consider myself a very superstitious person, but there are certain little habits I have, like tossing eyelashes and avoiding cracks in the sidewalk. Back in 2010, I posted a poem about lucky socks along with a recommendation for Janet Wong's great poetry book about superstitions, KNOCK ON WOOD.

Lately I have been posting more links to great poems and quotes on The Poem Farm Facebook Page. Please 'like' it to receive these links and poems and quotes on your news feed.

Tara is hosting this week's roundup over at A Teaching Life. You may well have already been there, but in case not...enjoy! Happy week ahead!

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