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Why I wrote Do Not Bring
me Pearls
(Re:
Poem by Anna Alexander
-
Do Not Bring Me Pearls)
Perhaps you wondered
about this poem my
daughter posted or
perhaps you understood
.....but let me tell you
why I wrote it and who
inspired it.
My husband was a rare
person, at least I see it
that way. He was generous
in his understanding and
giving. He always tried
to give me something
meaningful. It was not
always jewelry although
over the years he filled
my jewelry box with many
special pieces. Some were
expensive and of course I
loved them.
But in my box are
small things, a tiny
silver pin of a mother
deer and her baby I found
pinned to the covers of
my bed when I was
recovering from an
operation that almost
took my life. He did not
want to wake me but
wanted me to know he was
there and he was caring
for me as the mother deer
was caring for her baby.
He also pinned lady bug
pins, because we
were in Germany and they
were considered special
..and finally one morning
a string of natural
pearls were pinned to the
cover.
All were special still
what he gave me was
understanding, wings so I
could fly, the freedom to
be myself...and my poem
is about that.
Years go I was busy
dusting furniture in
anticipation of a party
we were to have that
weekend. The last thing
that needed dusting was
the coffee table in the
living room ...I confess
I talk to inanimate
objects and as I looked
at the dust gathered
there I spoke to it
"You know I have seen
you here before,. just
last week , I dusted you
, made the table shine
and here you are again.
You know when God
finished creating ,HE had
all this dust left over
and decided to strew it
over the world. to annoy
women forever. Every
woman since Eve has tried
to get rid of it , but it
is still here, We have
not been able to destroy
one atom ..so just lie
there a bit longer."
A book I had ordered
had arrived in the mail,
one I especially wanted
to read. Books were
and are a lifeline to me.
They have given me
knowledge. entertainment,
joy, tears, appreciation
.. filled empty hours,
made my life have
meaning.
So when my husband
came home, I was curled
up on the sofa reading
the book ...I can still
see him pause at the
entrance to the living
room , raising his
eyebrow in questioning at
the can of Pledge and
dust cloth,
I started to explain
but he stopped me ...
"You don't have to
explain , you know it is
YOUR day as well as mine
and you get to decide
what you want to do with
it."
I have to pause here ,
remembering , thinking
how blessed I was.
because he understood my
need to read. It
was the best gift to be
married to someone who
understood your needs. It
was love at the highest
level.
My poem , written
years after his death was
my way of saying that it
was not the pearls he
gave me that were
important but the
understanding.
He gave me the freedom
to be me. He gave me the
lemons and the limes,
kept my boat afloat
because he was away often
, flying all over the
world as a pilot in the
Air Force and I needed
his love to keep me sane
and my boat afloat. It
was the ultimate gift and
it is the reason I can
still be me .....
anna
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