Keepers

People are always emailing squishy poems that talk about life or love.  Some of them have pictures of pretty babies dressed up like flowers or insects, or large eyed puppies and dancing fairies.  I generally scan them, reading them only if I've never heard the words before.  It's always nice to have something in the inbox that is upbeat and happy, but not all the verse is something worth keeping.  I feel kind of sorry for Mr. Brown, who wrote some great inspirational verses that were published on posters back in the early 90's.  I see his words conscripted and accredited to the Dalai Lama all the time.  There are some verses that are kept alive through repetition and they become important to the people who quote them.

I have a couple of shelves of books that I will read and re-read.  When I get that bubble bath ready and take a glass of wine into the bathroom, I want to settle into the fragrant hot water with a good book.  I won't take a new book into the bathtub.  I don't want to spoil a good bath with a bad read.  I'll take a book that I know is good into my relaxing oasis.

Not all books are keepers.  Not all stories resonate with me.  But the ones that do, end up dogeared and well loved on my keeper shelf.  I have books on my shelf that are keepers because of one scene or a few paragraphs.  Those books generally have some post it flags marking the passages that I will return to over and over again.

Some of those words and phrases resonate because life has given us the same experiences.  When we read the words, we have a visceral response to the imagery.  I love that feeling evoked by excellent prose.  Here's one of my favorites, from Lois McMasters Bujold's Shards of Honor:

"She took the story in like some strange, spiked gift, too fragile to drop, too painful to hold."

There's a good reason why this writer is such an award winner.  That verbiage has lived long past the storyline.  When someone tells me something that was extremely painful to them, and their sharing makes me uncomfortable, this is the line that goes through my mind.  So uncommon.  So true.

I would love to write a line that is quoted years later.  Something better than "it was a dark and stormy night" one might hope.  I can't imagine what I would say to Ms. Bujold if I ever met her, but I'm sure my dogeared copy of Shards of Honor would speak volumes.

Not every book is a keeper.  Not every poem is a keeper.  You have to be selective about how you spend your time reading.  And in the bathtub.

--Sandee Wagner