SOLSC #6: Girl Scout Cookies
I've realized it is easier for me to write about memories. I've realized it isn't easy for me to slow down enough to really notice the stories that surround me each day. Today wasn't any easier. I waited for the writing to find me. I waited for the story to jump into my hand, but it didn't happen. Then I went to the freezer in desperation to grab a Girl Scout cookie. I thought..."Why not?". In poemcrazy: freeing your life with words Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge tells us, "Poems aren't written from ideas, like essays, and they're not overly controlled." I'm sure Wooldridge didn't' have this poem in mind when she gave this advice, but I think it's the "not overly controlled" that makes a poem much easier for me to write.
Girl Scout Cookies
I wonder
what would happen
if they sold
Girl Scout Cookies
in January.
When we are still
vowing to be healthy.
When we are watching
what we eat.
When we might be found
in the gym.
Instead they arrive
in March.
Past our time
of good intentions.
Past our days of
zumba and elliptical machines.
The upcoming months of
summer shorts and
bathing suits
still a distant thought
in our minds.
So we purchase them
for a good cause.
Place them in our freezers.
Put them in our pantries.
Hoping they will last
for at least a few days.
They call us to
the kitchen.
Before we know it
they have disappeared.
Temptation gone
just in time.
Girl Scout CookiesI wonder
what would happen
if they sold
Girl Scout Cookies
in January.
When we are still
vowing to be healthy.
When we are watching
what we eat.
When we might be found
in the gym.
Instead they arrive
in March.
Past our time
of good intentions.
Past our days of
zumba and elliptical machines.
The upcoming months of
summer shorts and
bathing suits
still a distant thought
in our minds.
So we purchase them
for a good cause.
Place them in our freezers.
Put them in our pantries.
Hoping they will last
for at least a few days.
They call us to
the kitchen.
Before we know it
they have disappeared.
Temptation gone
just in time.
What a great "I wonder." I smiled as I read your poem. Something tells me those delicious cookies (especially the thin mints) would sell, even in January. ;)
ReplyDeleteI ate a whole box of Tagalogs yesterday. I polished off my cookies and then scoured the fourth and fifth grade rooms for girl scouts who might have leftover boxes. I have a problem, I know this now.
ReplyDeleteLoved the slice. It's a good I wonder. However I don't think even a new year could persuade me that a serving of thin mints is less than a sleeve.
Kathy, I can so relate to how you were "waiting for the story to jump into your hand". I was toying with several stories until my daughter gave me an idea. I love your cookie poem. We've already eaten four boxes in the last few days. Once we start, we just can't stop. As always, another wonderful slice.
ReplyDeleteI swear we are on the same wavelength! I've been thinking about a Girl Scout cookie post since they started piling on top of my desk. I know a lot of girl scouts at Avery Elementary! Those girl scouts are no dummies. They know they wouldn't sell nearly as many cookies in January. Your poem made me smile tonight as I stare at the boxes of cookies sitting on kitchen table. :)
ReplyDeleteMine only made it in the freezer long enough to get semi-cold.... Nice work that you still have some left. If they need a home, you know where I live! And I LOVE the poem - thank you for sharing that. You told me slices are everywhere - how right you are....
ReplyDeleteSo much truth to your post! It takes way too much self-control to resist those pesky Thin Mints and Tagalongs that taunt me from my pantry. I'd like to think my will-power would be strong enough in January to just say no, but in March when it's too soon to be thinking about the beach, my defenses are just too weak.
ReplyDeleteI never thought of it, but you're entirely right. It's almost conspiratorial! I loved the poem, Cathy.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, I don't think you can turn the girls away and still be a 'good' person, can you? Didn't think so.
Cathy, I love your insights and intros at the beginning of your posts. A true writing teacher providing a purpose! I'm quite the opposite - I find it more difficult to write about memories because I don't feel I can capture with all the details and select words . . . rather, I open my eyes, ears and heart and find more and more stories happening in the day! Thanks for the insights! I think you took an crumb of inspiration and created a magnificent poem!
ReplyDeleteI knew those Girl Scouts were up to no good! :) What a great "in between" moment you captured here!
ReplyDeleteI never thought about the timing of Girl Scout cookies. March is indeed late enough to forget about new years resolutions and early enough to feel months away from summer. And the photo made me salivate.
ReplyDeleteYour bro.
Cathy- Your post made me laugh. I bought girl scout cookies, boxes and boxes of them, because last year my boys loved them, and inhaled them. This year, for reasons I still can't figure out, not so much. I am not even going to tell you who actually did eat most of them!
ReplyDeleteMy friends and I were discussing this recently since I refuse to buy more than 1 box of cookies (even in March). I'm still on the bandwagon, so-to-speak.
ReplyDeleteAh...I LOVE girl scout cookies. It's too bad I was never a girl scout growing up. I am wishing I could have some right now here in Korea. Even though they might not be healthiest thing, you are lucky to be able to get them! This is such a fun poem. Thanks for sharing it!
ReplyDelete