Cutter's Word

(Anna von deBardeleben, September 21, 1947- June 23, 2001)

Soft smile shines from the yearbook photograph
I keep on my writing table,
an antique post office desk
she picked up on an exotic trip.
Her butterfly painting hangs beside me,
a blue butterfly with purple wings
lands on a white camellia bloom.
Off in the distance,
a pastel rainbow forms
as sunrays burst through the storm.
I smile as the memories flash
like fireflies in the summer night,
rising to the moon.

I have had red roes
yellow, pink and white
breathing fragrant
in the morning light
Drop of dew its petals
touched
fragrance of the night.
A few red and glowing
like no other,
but only one or two or three
Like soft blown mornings.
Like a meteor in the moony lite
so touched my life
like only one or two or more-
A few I loved who loved me too
like the red rose.
             ~Annie McLeod Mauney

On Tuesday, Barton and I thought we would visit the British Museum. However, it talking with a guide, we realized that what we really wanted to see was located in the British Library. Since we only had a few hours, we raced up the street. Finally, Barton and I arrived at The British Library and spent over three hours- oohing and ahhing at the manuscripts held there.
 

     

On the third day of our stay in London, Barton and I high-tailed it to The Globe (on the other side of the Thames river), to see A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Before the performance, we took a quick tour of the archaeological site of The Rose. As we walked through a door under an office building, the smell was musty and humid.