Tantalizing
I once dreamt I was standing near the road. My printed, calf length dress blowing against my body as cars whisked by and wisps of hair blew gently against my face. Sometimes I was afraid the skirt would blow up and I would reach down and hold it against my thigh. I mused, maybe if it did blow up that would bring business to my lonely roadside stand.
“Marilyn Monroe didn’t need talent, she was a business woman in her way”. I snorted a sigh as I looked up at the sign above my head, “so much for advertising my eggs, melons, tomatoes, and other tantalizing gifts of sun, soil, and toil.”
Swish, another car, another look, but no buyer. I rearrange the honey, smile – “good business you know”, looked up the road with hope swelling in my chest. This time I see a car coming over the hill, two minutes until – swish. Maybe, maybe not, I say to myself as I hike my sun browned leg up on the chair and tighten my shoe laces. The car slowed – my leg wobbled the chair as I brought it slowly down in the dust and straightened up just as the car pulled off the road into the grass. At that moment I knew I could do business like Marilyn Monroe. I straightened my printed dress skirt, smiled the best southern girl smile I could give and asked the gentleman, “would you like to buy some fresh melons from the garden?”
Photo by C H Paquette (2007)
Writing by Cynthia Dowdy (2008)
Cynthia Dowdy, Licensed professional counselor in private practice.Arboretum volunteer gardener, Book club member, Swing Dancer (East and West), Hiker,Beginning writer – feeling and finding my way through words.
(This is from a 10 minute writing exercise practiced by a small writing group in Raleigh, North Carolina. Each person selects a photograph and has 10 minutes to write something using the photo as a creative prompt.)
No comments:
Post a Comment