GoodReads

C's bookshelf: read

The Peculiar
Maggot Moon
Chime
Leviathan
The City and the City
Graceling
The Road
A Certain Slant of Light
The Muses Among Us: Eloquent Listening and Other Pleasures of the Writer's Craft
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood
Brown Girl in the Ring
Well Wished
The Innkeeper's Song
Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art
Beloved
American Indian Myths and Legends
The Left Hand of Darkness
The Return of the King
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers


C S Peterson's favorite books »

Monday, November 14, 2011

Patterns in the Air


It's the patterns in the air.



The jugglers at the Boulder juggling club are world-class, better than I can ever hope to be, but playfully focused and welcoming. Every Sunday night our family goes to juggle. Then I catch myself at some point, standing with my back to the mirror, entranced by the activity in the room.  Patterns of balls arc up into the air and float down, caught in a waterfall.  Rings buoy up and hang just at the top, bubbles caught up in a foam. Clubs twirl and sparkle in the midst of a circle of friends.

Last week, a friend, my husband and I kept eleven clubs in the air for brief bits of time.  I reveled in the euphoria of success, the clam of deep focus and a sense of wonder. The beautiful pattern appears in the air between our hands.  White clubs, wrapped in glittering gilt, twirl and spin in a smooth dance of arcs in the space that separates us.  The pattern pops into existence for a few moments, then falls apart, like everything that ever was alive.