Saturday, December 01, 2007

Pomegranate Snowfall

Outside the windows in the dark, snow is falling, steady and fast.  It piles on the lawns, cars and streets, falls through the lamplight.  Inside, we finally open the pomegranate  we bought well before Thanksgiving.  The blood red jewels shine in the incandescent light, garnets and rubies arranged is a perfect pattern.  It tastes so good.  In spite of being well aged, it is sweet, tart and delicious. I think of my grandmother Nicolina, my father's mother, who lived in a stable as a young woman and rode horses along the rocky coast of Italy collecting pomegranates.  It was she who taught me to eat them.  I think of course of Persephone down in the underworld by the firelight with Hades and Demeter, missing her above.  I think of my poet friend Linda who writes so deliciously of Persephone.  And I smile at Biker Buddy across the table from me. We ask each other why we haven't eaten this fabulous fruit before now.  Because, we decide, it takes leisure to open and eat a pomegranate, and leisure seems to be in short supply, especially leisure together.  But tonight, we pried open a little hole in our frenzy big enough to enjoy a pomegranate together.  Then rushed off again on our various tasks.  Biker Buddy is writing checks, Piano Boy playing the piano and I was carving on the polar bear block again.  Later, Biker Buddy will read aloud to Piano Boy and me, my favorite part of the day.  We'll be cuddled together on the love seat in the study.  And the snow?  It's still falling.

7 comments:

a/k/a Nadine said...

It all sounds lovely. I wish that you could have more relaxed leisure time. It's definitely something we all need, right? And now I'll have to get my own pomegranate soon...

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

It was an especially wonderful pomegranate! Mmm, we at the whole thing in a single sitting, which is unusual for us. Usually, it takes at least two.

We're relaxing together right now, I guess, Biker Buddy on the couch reading the paper and me nearby checking my email and blogs.

But he works 10 hours a day 6 days a week so we don't have that much time together where we don't have to be cooking, eating, walking or dashing off to take piano boy to his lessons etc.

BerryBird said...

It sounds like a delightfully cozy evening. Snow is not such a bad thing, if you can stay home and enjoy the comforts of a pomengranate and good company.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

Snow is fine when you're at home and we enjoyed it out walking at Cranbrook today, too!

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

I just hate DRIVING in it!

(I also am not always fond of sleeping in it unless I am very well prepared!)

Coffeypot said...

I wouldn't mind seeing a little snow down her each year. The problem is it is usually preceded by rain that freezes and makes everything slicker than owl shit. And it says on the ground for weeks (if the temperature doesn’t’ get above 32 degrees) as had as white cement.

Mary Stebbins Taitt said...

We've had some of that, too! AK!

One time when I was in Montpelier, VT, we got freezing rain and it was on the top of a big hill--it was literally impossible to walk up or down for a week.