CHARACTER THROUGH SURROUNDINGS

Yesterday's workshop put me in mind of Anne Caldwell's excellent workshop on the 10th of September as part of the Calderdale Writers Roadshow.  Part of Anne's workshop dealt with memoir and how a description of a room or memory can inform the character.  I produced the following poem as part of the challenge to write a piece that takes a reader into the room of your choice and transports them back there.  I think it will be fairly obvious to those who know me (and probably those who don't) the room I am in:

Song of Memories

The sweet tang of the baby lotion and
the dry ache of the baby powder sing of her.
The sunny paper hangs on the wall like a whisper
and the animal border has silent soldiers watching over her.
Eyes that see all and forget nothing.
The soft down of her favourite blanket and the benign smile of Benjy,
back when he still had a smile,
before it was worn down by too many over-enthusiastic hugs.
The mobile turns slowly,
a colourful carousel that sings of what her life can be.
A rainbow of possibilities.
The laughter echoes in the corners of so many 'Mummy Monster' tickles
and I can taste the soft coconut down of her skin,
from the myriad of kisses to her beautiful tiny face.
The air swirls around her kicking feet and she grasps towards me,
drawing pictures in the gap between us and I can see them.
All the years we will love together.
Already an artist, already the creator of the pattern and the hue
of emotions stronger than the words we could pin to them.