Stories From Women Who Walk

60 Seconds for Wednesdays on Whidbey: Weathering by Fleur Adcock.

Episode Summary

"Now that I am in love with a place which doesn't care how I look ...."

Episode Notes

Coming to you from Whidbey Island, Washington this is 60 Seconds, your daily dose of hope, imagination, wisdom, stories, practical tips, and general riffing on this and that.

Here, in my home on Whidbey Island I believe I know well what prompted Fleur Adcock to write the poem, Weathering.

Weathering

Literally thin-skinned, I suppose, my face

catches the wind off the snow-line and flushes

with a flush that will never wholly settle. Well:

that was a metropolitan vanity,

wanting to look young for ever, to pass.

I was never a pre-Raphaelite beauty

nor anything but pretty enough to satisfy

men who needed to be seen with passable women.

But now that I am in love with a place

which doesn’t care how I look, or if I’m happy,

happy is how I look, and that’s all.

My hair will turn grey in any case,

my nails chip and flake, my waist thicken,

and the years work all their usual changes.

If my face is to be weather-beaten as well

that’s little enough lost, a fair bargain

for a year among lakes and fells, when simply

to look out of my window at the high pass

makes me indifferent to mirrors and to what

my soul may wear over its new complexion." [Fleur Adcock]

This is the place to thrive together. Come for the stories - stay for the magic. Speaking of magic, I hope you’ll subscribe, follow, share a nice shout out on your social media or podcast channel of choice, and join us next time! You’re invited to stop by the website and subscribe to stay current with Diane, her journeys, her guests, as well as creativity, imagination, walking, stories, camaraderie, and so much more: Quarter Moon Story Arts

Production Team: Quarter Moon Story Arts

Music: Mer’s Waltz from Crossing the Waters by Steve Schuch & Night Heron Music