54. Water-prayer

I’m taking a real vacation this week, so this will be short: just a photo, a poem, and a quick rundown of what I’ve been reading.

View from my grandmother’s house

Sea Church

BY AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL

Give me a church
made entirely of salt.
Let the walls hiss
and smoke when
I return to shore.

I ask for the grace
of a new freckle
on my cheek, the lift
of blue and my mother's
soapy skin to greet me.

Hide me in a room
with no windows.
Never let me see
the dolphins leaping
into commas

for this water-prayer
rising like a host
of sky lanterns into
the inky evening.
Let them hang

in the sky until
they vanish at the edge
of the constellations —
the heroes and animals
too busy and bright to notice.

(Via pbs.org)

What I’m reading

Later by Stephen King. I finished this novel (about a boy whose “gift” of seeing dead people leaves him open to exploitation) and found it dark but quite enjoyable. It calls itself a horror story, but it’s not scary.

The Mysterious Case of Benjamin Button by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I adore Fitzgerald’s writing in The Great Gatsby, but I’m embarrassed to say I hadn’t read anything else by him until I read this. This novella is less stylish than Gatsby, but it’s still worth reading (whether or not you’ve seen the movie).

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara. A Little Life, also by this author, is the absolute saddest book I’ve ever read. This one isn’t that sad (yet! I’ll let you know). The book is divided into three sections, each set a hundred years apart. I’m only on the first part, but so far, it’s quite gripping.

Beswitched by Kate Saunders. I found this via Dinner: a Love Story. It’s a middle grade novel about a spoiled girl who time travels to a British boarding school in the 1930s. It is such a cozy little story — reminiscent of The Penderwicks in tone. I was sorry when this ended!

Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead. Whitehead’s talent blows me away. This novel is drastically different in style and tone from The Underground Railroad and The Nickel Boys (which were, themselves, quite different!); it’s wry and even funny. I mean, here’s the first line: “Ray Carney was only slightly bent when it came to being crooked…” Haha. I’m listening to this on audiobook right now, but I think I’m actually going to switch to text to ensure I don’t miss anything.

I hope whatever you are reading is bringing you joy (even if it’s dark or sad!).

Until next week,

Kate