Mad Girl's Love Song

 

My very first favorite poet was Slyvia Plath.  And, of all her poems, Mad Girl's Love Song is my favorite.  

My friend, Trish, does abstract art.  Sometimes I see things in her work that aren't, in her mind, there.

Art is like that. 

The first time I read Mad Girl's Love Song, probably in the 60s, it said things to me that Plath wasn't necessarily saying to the world.  A few days ago someone put the poem on Facebook, relating to our current situation. 

I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead;        I lift my lids and all is born again.     (I think I made you up inside my head.)

The stars go waltzing out in blue and red,    And arbitrary blackness gallops in:    I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.

Plath's speaker is dealing with themes of mental illness, love and the power of imagination.  She's both euphoric and despairing. 

Bingo!

I am a life long insomniac.  But now, due to meds and lifestyle I, for the most part, sleep well and have good dreams.  Hence, I love the phrase "I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead."

God topples from the sky, hell's fires fade:    Exit seraphim and Satan's men:    I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead. 

I fancied you'd return the way you said,    But I grow  old and forget your name.    (I think I made you up inside my head.)

Yes, I feel that way about a special someone, but I feel heartache about so very many loved ones, alive and dead.  Again, I'm grateful that I can close my eyes at night and have sweat dreams. 

I should have loved a thunderbird instead;    At least when spring comes they roar back again,    I shut my eyes and all the world drops dead.    (I think I made you up inside my head.)

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Trader Joe's Bonkers Parking Lot

 

If you think you're the only one who goes insane in a Trader Joe's parking lot, think again.  The tiny parking lot is their thing. 

 I I buy one item at Trader Joe's.  Charles Shaw Chardonnay.  Or "Two Buck Chuck."  It's now over five dollars a bottle but still a fantastic buy and the only wine that doesn't have the potential to make me sick.  So, thumbs up on both counts.  Right?

Well, not exactly.  I went to to get my six months supply on Monday but after 30 minutes I gave up on finding a parking place.  The lot was super jammed because it was Veterans Day.  

Everything Trader Joe's does is purposeful and consistent in every store..  That includes small parking lots in dense areas.  Also they don't sell their products on line.  Period.  Their unique brands, like the most popular this year, Chili and Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips, can be found only by navigating the tiny lot.  

Before we had a Trader Joe's in Winter Park, Florida, I shopped at the one in my then boyfriend David's city, Edina, Minnesota.  It was much the same.  Only they had parking attendants.  This looked like a life or death job for sure.

I'm thinking all Trader Joe's employees are home schooled.  Despite all the chaos in the parking lot and inside the store it's self, they are cheerful, helpful and a tiny bit condescending.  Absolutely nothing throws them. 

I live in Central Florida, one of the entertainment capitals of the world.  I lived here prior to Disney.  But two of the most highly anticipated brands to hit our area have been Trader Joe's and Ikea. 

I went back on Tuesday and got the job done. 

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