About Face

If you are curious why I have a bannister on my header-it is from the Southern Hotel.  Ghosts from the past have found a way to communicate with me through poetry.  I'm not kidding-check out this post over in the Imaginary Garden!  It is still happening-a quote from Robert Frost in a yoga book yesterday.  I almost dropped my iPad.  Yes, Robert Frost is following me.

"The best way out is always through."-Robert Frost







                                
Orville n' Wilbur Wright and maybe Robert Frost went up and down these stairs!


Peggy challenged us to write a poem-About Face.  Laura the owner of Pasquotank Trading Company, one shop in the the hotel, helped my daughter channel Audrey Hepburn.  Thank you Laura, it was so fun! 


It was kind of odd behind the camera.  My daughter doesn't normally act this way, when I take her photos.   I think it was the high heels, hat, and gloves or maybe the scenery inspired her.  She started tilting her head and becoming someone else.  The owner was impressed-it was kinda fun, yet spooky, but definitely more fun.




DOORWAY OF SOULS

Portal opens
scented whispers linger
like shadows 
rippled in translucent light
perfumed lilies waif through
former lobby


faded pearls n' dust
decorate family tree
dewy peach skin 
outlined charcoal doe eyes
geometry graces
blushed apple smile
dimpled thoughts wink


doorway of souls
float in bleached white memories
silver feathers glide
caressing memories
appear in hands, tilt of head and smile
elfin manner transformed


every quarter hour
clock chimes
their archived
map lives on
lyrical notes referenced
in golden floral notes. 

© Ellen Wilson















Comments

Really inspiring photos. I think the banister looks good as your header.
And your daughter looks cute in that outfit.
Bleached white memories - that's powerful.
Kerry O'Connor said…
Your daughter has a face to inspire art and poetry, Ella. I love the idea of a doorway of souls, a conduit for memories of a time before our own which is rich in texture and has something to teach us of ourselves.
D.G. Hudson said…
Interesting location. . .and lots of places now do emphasize the ghosts - they've become an asset - until it gets dark.

Great photos, I've always found hats bring out the 'dashing' side of male or female. Your daughter looks as if she's having a great time.
Mark Koopmans said…
Wow, ghosts and poetry - that's an awesome mix :)

And look, now you have some new family memories c/o Miss. Hepburn :)
Vicki Sheehan said…
nice pictures...your daughter is beautiful!
L. Diane Wolfe said…
Your daughter is so pretty.

I love the top of that spiral staircase. The swirl is beautiful.
Mary said…
Ella, your daughter has the most expressive face. Does she look like you when you were a teen? I love the idea of 'doorway of souls.'
Maude Lynn said…
Lovely write, Ella! Your daughter is gorgeous!
M Pax said…
Ooo! What a fun time you both seemed to have. Beautiful architecture. Your daughter is stunning.
Peggy said…
Getting around to comment late Ella, but love what you did with the prompt! Your daughter is beautiful.
Sherry Blue Sky said…
I love "doorway of souls" and the other-worldly tone of this beautiful poem. Your daughter is a knockout. It looks like she loved transforming herself into a femme fatale.
Shelly said…
All your pics were great. Your daughter is a pretty girl. Loved your poem.

Hugs and chocolate,
Shelly
Margaret said…
perfumed lilies waif through
former lobby

Yes, it is fun to ponder the ones who have gone before - the "bumping into" Frost is fascinating. And your daughter seems a natural "Audrey" to me! :)
Anonymous said…
Intriguing experiences!
I like the time element here "every quarter hour clock chimes". :)
Ella said…
Margaret-It is fun! Frost didn't give me a chill, but he made me think ;D Thank you-normally she wears glasses and a silly grin-it was fun to see her in another lens!

Shelly-Thank you :D I will tell her-it was fun to be followed by a ghost ;D Hugs n' chocolate to you~

Sherry-She normally looks like a book worm with glasses! ;D Thank you I will tell her~ She did have a wonderful afternoon-it just happened, no set plan!

Peggy-Thank you! :D I will pass this along. Her book worm head will smile.

MPax-Yes, she channeled glam very well! It was an enchanting afternoon~ So fun :D Thought of you, when I saw the memorable moon!

Mama Zen-Thank you! She will love reading these comments~ ;D

Mary-I still am expressive-I look more Spanish and people tell her she looks like Meryl Streep. We have a similar nose and expressions. Sometimes I think she looks like me, than not. In these photos, not...lol She had fun glamming it up~ Thank you :D

L.Diane-Thank you! I know I had to touch the swirl, lol. It is so fabulous to wonder who graced the staircase and made a grand entrance! :D

Vicki-Thank you! She normally looks more book worm with glasses-so it was fun! She wants to go back-imagine that, lol.

Hi Mark-Yes and Robert Frost ;D
Thank you~ Yes, I think ghosts chasing me with poems could work. I hope you are doing well-toss a shell for me at Bellows Beach! I'm so jealous :D

DG-I do agree! Ghosts do conjure up excitement, until the dark curtain falls. I love hats and agree with you! There is a charm about framing the face~ Yes, she had quite the day! ;D
Thank you!

Kerry-Thank you! Honestly, she looks like a bookworm-so it was fun to channel diva! :D She normally wears glasses~ I agree we can always learn so much from our past and we need to keep the portal open. Robert Frost isn't done with me, yet ;D

Alex-Thank you! Yes, it was fun~
I know the swirl does bring it!
Thank you...I thought bleached would make a statement! Thanks for noticing Captain ;D

Alex-

Vandana Sharma said…
I liked pearl and soul
Susie Clevenger said…
Your daughter has such a beautiful face...Perhaps she channeled the women whose things she wore. "doorway of souls float in bleached white memories" Love that line.
kaykuala said…
doorway of souls
float in bleached white memories
silver feathers glide
caressing memories

Beautiful words to acknowledge the wonder of reflecting on memories. Memories are there floating for one to pick up which are to remember! And she is so pretty! Great write Ella!

Hank
Yolanda Renée said…
Beautiful words, inspired by a beautiful girl and an awesome place.
Well done!

I am so leery of ghosts and try to stay as far away as possible from the hint of them. I'm to empathetic and sensitive - scares the hell out of me!
Ella said…
Hi Yolanda-Thank you! It is gorgeous inside-I will take more photos. This place is special and history glides and lures you in, once you grace the lobby doors. I didn't see any ghosts, but Robert Frost did follow me home. I keep hearing his name come up and finding one of his quotes in a YOGA book-is very odd!
lol I'm sorry! I have never seen one, but I did have a ghost like feeling once at Fort Knox...I felt like I was being shoved. TAPS did a show and they showed other people in the same spot feeling having the same experience-it was spooky! The living scare me more than the dead. ;D Thank you~

Hank-Memories are like that-float on in...trying to pick the pretty ones, not the dust motes. Thank you so much~ :D

Susie-It felt like that behind the lens-I told her to take her glasses off and to tilt her chin and it was crazy, after that! Thank you~ :D

VaNdAnA-Thank you for stopping by :D
Ella said…
Loredana-Thank you! I loved your comment, yes Frost n' Hepburn would make anyone smile ;D Thank you!
Michael Di Gesu said…
Hi, Ella,

WHOA.. I posted about my spirit today.. If you get a chance stop by.

LOVED, LOVED, LOVED your poem. Just beautiful.

Your daughter is lovely. Truly beautiful. She has such a special inner glow. Pure. Sweet. That inner beauty can never be reproduced on film, it has to be there...

Kay L. Davies said…
Pearls 'n dust...oh, Ella, your daughter is fortunate to have a talented, sensitive spirited mother like you.
Wonderful post for the Faces prompt. Chaneling Audrey Hepburn is the kind of ghost encounter any woman would love to have.
K
Ella said…
Michael-Wow hotels and ghosts?! Your post is amazing...I can't wait to hear more about your spirited child!
I am still wondering about Robert Frost. It has been quiet for the past two days. I do return to the hotel next week-so we will see!
Thank you so much!!! My daughter has been told since age 5, she has this inner glow. I know I have seen it~ She is like you described-thank you!!!
YOU are sweet @>------ Congrats on your revising the first page!!

Kay-Thank you! I can't wait to see what happens next at the hotel?! ;D
Suzanne Furness said…
What a beautiful poem and such wonderful photos to accompany it.
DEZMOND said…
such a perdy daughter you have, Ella!
Ella said…
Hi Dezzy-Thank you ;D

Suzanne-Thank you! I had fun being chased by Robert Frost and taking those pics :D