the words she didn’t say


The year was 2013, the month was November, the day was the day before Thanksgiving  when I originally published this post. Am I (a) too lazy to write new material (b) too stressed by Covid-19 to be creative (c) having fun looking again at my cyberspace legacy (d) all of the above.  Let’s go with (d).  I hope you enjoy along with me.

the words she didn’t say

She wanted to speak, but the words wouldn’t come.

They stuck in her mind like pavement to gum.

Release me, release me the words cried today.

I’m afraid, she said, as she held them at bay.

We will be heard, they told her with force.

She shook her head to quiet their source.

They rattled around in the core of her brain,

But got up again and began to raise Cain.

Leave me alone, she shouted out loud.

They mocked her and told her they came in a crowd.

So even if caught and turned  out to sea,

Others would come and one day be free.

It must be the holidays because I’ve just written a poem with the same meter as ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Good Lord.

My usually introspective self typically becomes more reflective during the holiday season, and I believe this poem officially crosses the line to brooding.  However, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year; Pretty and I once again look forward to making the trip to the upstate to spend an evening with her family in the recreation hall of the First Baptist Church of Fingerville, South Carolina.  Even if I didn’t love her family, I’d go to a Baptist Church with that name.

To everything there is a season, and this is the season for being thankful before the madness that is Christmas and New Year’s Day overwhelms us.  My wish for each of you is the familiar admonition to count your blessings and name them one by one. And if there are words you want or need to say to someone, set them free.

From our family to yours – Happy Thanksgiving!

*****************

From our family to yours,  we are thankful for you. Please be safe and stay tuned.

About Sheila Morris

Sheila Morris is a personal historian, essayist with humorist tendencies, lesbian activist, truth seeker and speaker in the tradition of other female Texas storytellers including her paternal grandmother. In December, 2017, the University of South Carolina Press published her collection of first-person accounts of a few of the people primarily responsible for the development of LGBTQ organizations in South Carolina. Southern Perspectives on the Queer Movement: Committed to Home will resonate with everyone interested in LGBTQ history in the South during the tumultuous times from the AIDS pandemic to marriage equality. She has published five nonfiction books including two memoirs, an essay compilation and two collections of her favorite blogs from I'll Call It Like I See It. Her first book, Deep in the Heart: A Memoir of Love and Longing received a Golden Crown Literary Society Award in 2008. Her writings have been included in various anthologies - most recently the 2017 Saints and Sinners Literary Magazine. Her latest book, Four Ticket Ride, was released in January, 2019. She is a displaced Texan living in South Carolina with her wife Teresa Williams and their dogs Spike, Charly and Carl. She is also Naynay to her two granddaughters Ella and Molly James who light up her life for real. Born in rural Grimes County, Texas in 1946 her Texas roots still run wide and deep.
This entry was posted in Humor, Lesbian Literary, Life, Personal, Random, Reflections, Slice of Life, The Way Life Is and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

6 Responses to the words she didn’t say

  1. Susanne says:

    Oh my Moses! Fingerville? Can’t stop laughing! What about all the other digits – Thumbopolis, Pinky Hamlet, Indexshire, Rubyringborough, Middle Hollow?

    Liked by 1 person

    • When Pretty told me the first time where we were going for Thanksgiving, I thought she was kidding me. But alas, she didn’t lie. I think I posted a picture on Red’s Rants and Raves that first year.
      First Baptist Church of Thumbopolis sounds about right!! Glad I gave you a chuckle.

      Like

  2. milford516 says:

    GOOD ONE SHEWEE.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Juanita Jean says:

    ❤️Love to y’all and all the family 👍

    On Tue, Apr 7, 2020 at 11:30 AM I’ll Call It Like I See It wrote:

    > Sheila Morris posted: “The year was 2013, the month was November, the day > was the day before Thanksgiving when I originally published this post. Am > I (a) too lazy to write new material (b) too stressed by Covid-19 to be > creative (c) having fun looking again at my cyberspace le” >

    Liked by 1 person

    • I was thinking about you this week when I heard Vic Schafer is going to be the new women’s basketball coach at UT! Wow – what a catch and can I just tell you there are some most unhappy Miss State fans right now!!??!! Much love to you cousins

      Like

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