“The Lanyard”

The other day as I was ricocheting slowly
off the pale blue walls of this room,
bouncing from typewriter to piano,
from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor,
I found myself in the L section of the dictionary
where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one more suddenly into the past –
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sickroom,
lifted teaspoons of medicine to my lips,
set cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift–not the archaic truth

that you can never repay your mother,
but the rueful admission that when she took
the two-tone lanyard from my hands,
I was as sure as a boy could be
that this useless, worthless thing I wove
out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

George Tsutakawa sculpture in front of Seattle Public Library’s Central branch (Day 21), originally uploaded by laurenipsum.

Coincidentally, after the museum exhibit yesterday, I was at SPL today to pick up several holds. As I was leaving I remembered that I had not yet gotten a photo for today, and simultaneously remembered that some of the George Tsutakawa exhibit dealt with the SPL fountain, which was (I think) his first fountain (?). It moved with SPL to at least two locations. And here it is, now, with a background of people frantic to check out as library staff call ten minutes until close.

Ti leaf rain cape at Wing Luke Asian museum (Day 20), originally uploaded by laurenipsum.

We went to the Wing Luke Asian Museum tonight for the opening of an exhibit about Hawaiians in the Pacific Northwest. G’s stepdad Al was playing at the event so we got on the guest list. It was fun! We got to see the exhibit as well as the rest of the Wing Luke installations, and have some snacks including spam “sushi,” macaroni salad, and that delicious coconut jello sort of dessert whose name I can never remember.

Cloud decoration on the ceiling of the Wing Luke Asian Museum, originally uploaded by laurenipsum.

Also there was an excellent exhibit of George Tsutakawa’s work; I hadn’t known his name but I have long appreciated his wonderful fountain sculpture outside of Central branch. I took a bunch of photos but then as we were about to exit, I noticed the “No Photography” sign, so I won’t post them here; you will have to look at the Google Images results, unfortunately. But he is still interesting and enjoyable.