i wake at four
to the scent of cinnamon.
it is too dark to know more than this all tied up
in the dream of a friend.
someone i have not seen much in this past hurried year.
cinnamon and a promise to emerge from these long winter nights and seek the
side of those who visit me in my dreams.
i lay here in the stone quiet
a solitary moon lays a faint milky entrance through the quiet windows.
only jackson stirs to purr as he burrows into the curve of my heart.
dreams fade and i must chase them over the
warmth of my husband's side.
i have to rise and talk to the lightening stars,
throw the covers back and chart a course for the chance of living.
every day a new year just beginning.
one thousand strands of yesterday hang in the balance.
which beads will we lay on our hearts,
whisper their stories and awaken our souls with?
which passion, feast or famine
will we follow into the crashing light?
what heroic poetry will we write on the waiting air?
cinnamon prayer beads
call someone you love and invite her to your kitchen
fill the air with the fragrance of friendship
1 cup powered cinnamon
1 tbsp. allspice
2 tbsp. cloves
1 tbsp. nutmeg
1 c. applesauce
1 tbsp. elmers glue
***
combine the first four ingredients and blend well.
stir in applesauce and mix again.
add more cinnamon until your mixture is easy to handle.
place some powered cinnamon on the palms of your hands and gather the dough into a ball.
as children this is when we would roll out the fragrant dough to shape with old tin cookie cutters.
this year the dough lingered in my hands warming and stirring my thoughts.
i pinched a small bit off and began rolling a small ginger coloured ball between my open palms.
suddenly it was as round and reminiscent as the old silver mexican beads i have
worn everyday for as long as i remember.
and that's when it happened, the old became new. the cookie cutters sat in a beautiful heap
while i formed ginger coloured beads in the bright morning kitchen.
filled with the simple beauty of making a scented rosary wishing only
that it was not too early to call a friend.
***
forming the rosary beads
sit with a friend and let the stories fill the welcoming air.
roll small amounts into the size beads you desire.
pierce their centers with a
wooden skewer and turn the skewer round to be sure the opening is well formed.
set your beads down on a flat even surface, perhaps a cookie sheet with edges to contain them,
to dry. reinsert the skewer mid day and again before bed,
(as they dry they tend to heal a bit and the opening must be well established)
it will take a few days for your beads to dry enough for stringing.
make a strand long enough to wear...
hang them close to your bed to pepper your dreams, tuck them in a drawer to scent your stockings,
or upon the bright shoulders of a watchful angel.
share them with your friend.
they are infused with stories shared, the forming of your hands and the
memories only cinnamon, friendship, and a prayer
can hold forever.
