That Which Is Lovely
Imagine. The word came natural to me as a little girl,
This little girl who instinctively knew to twirl,
Who grew up painting her daddy’s face,
With her play make-up and would create, what she imagined in her mind…
To be lovely.
A little blue eye-shadow here, concentration, a lot of pink blush there,
Lipstick red outside of lip lines, but he didn’t care,
Because she was the artist and in her mind’s eye he was the canvas of love
Who allowed her to be precise with her efforts to create the lovely.
Sleepovers came often with her impressionable precious friends
There you would find her like clockwork again,
Whitney, Kelly, and Leslie too…
When they stepped into her realm they were in for a “do”…
She would take that straight hair and her butterfly clips
And like a maestro, would let her magic begin.
In the master bathroom, ceilings high she saw, Mommy, jet black hair, 5’4” towering tall
In perfection, lovely, leaning, into that mirror preening
And at that moment her little heart knew,
She yearned for that which was lovely too.
Imagine. On stages wide, her oval brown eyes saw, beautiful ballerinas, limbs so tall.
Long hands so light, elegant, and delicate graced one and all…
By their specific placement, intricate movement, and intimate traces
Then her heart knew she yearned for a billowing tutu too.
Dancing lovely, curves, lines, contrast, soft, hard, hit, and melt
Movements she witnessed expressed something deep inside she felt…
Passion, exhilaration, sadness, sorrow, joy,
Exactness, truth, ambiguousness, aloofness and more,
The movements she saw on stage were mirrors or keys
To the door of her heart, this heart that bleeds for life and to know that which is lovely.
Outside at night, summer heat so thick you could taste it
As the daylight lingered longer, our family didn’t waste it.
We would play ball with Leslie and run around those orange floppy bases swift
As the light slowly withdrew its colorful farewell glow, inside we refused to go
But waited…
For that which was lovely.
Darkness crept in with the dusk, yes, we knew it then
Lightning bugs were coming out to play
And so we would linger longer and stay
To become a part of that which was lovely.
Eyes peeled to see them flitting to and fro
We daren’t shut them, afraid to miss their heralding glow
Time stopped in those moments and all faded away
As hands flailed out and we’d sway to the beat of that lightning bug flicker.
Riding on that golf-cart, backseat grip strong,
Breathing in that farm air, going down rows of cotton long.
Granddaddy in the front seat, faithful German Shepherd right beside,
To look for that which is lovely, was our educational ride.
He’d sit so tall, top hat on, Pepsi can housed in cup holder there,
Driving us down those dirt rows on the family farm where,
His eyes would scan the horizon, sharp as a knife,
Those seeing eyes, they scanned just right.
When his arm would stretch out long, pointer-finger longer pointing,
Our little eyes followed suit hoping to see what he had seen.
A deer, or a hawk, cotton flowers, and much more,
Granddaddy taught us, for seeing eyes that which is lovely was in store.
This little twirling girl grew up,
And with the word “grown up”,
The words busy, responsibility, and ambition followed,
But remained buried underneath, her belief in the hollowness
Of a world without that which is lovely.
So she prayed for eyes that could see
And yes she prevailed, and decided she,
That as long as there was breath in her lungs,
She would bend the knees, open the eyes and hands to receive…
All things lovely, because all is lovely when all is given.
Author: Leah Finch
Email: [email protected]
Author Bio: Leah Finch, affectionately known as LeLe among friends and family is like most women…hard to confine to black and white text. She has a depth, a color and dimension unique to her that can only be known, not described. But if one were to try to express her personhood in words they may choose the following: celebrator, confidant, intuitive, empathizer, expressive, dreamer, planner, serious, learning, bridge-builder, poetic, beauty-seeker, heart-uncoverer, stumbler, perseverer, question-asker, and hearer. She desires to seek the lovely every day.
Link to social media or website: https://www.instagram.com/lvfinch/
