I hear "No Roots" on the radio.
(I thought the singer
was Florence Welch;
Alice Merton is
her vocal doppelganger,
at least in this song.)
Every time I hear it
I think of my fellow
Military BRATs.
We have no roots.
And then I think
of the squirrels
who disrupt our routines,
burying pecans in my potted plants
and nesting in our resting car.
Will I remember
where to find the stories of my youth?
Will the squirrels remember
the pecans before saplings take root?
Interesting to think about. I grew up in a small town where I've spent most of my life. I often wonder what adventures I have missed. When I think about my roots, I think about the people who have been a part of my life --- especially the early part. As I think about it more, I guess it is a bit grounded in place. It must feel different to have moved a lot when young.
ReplyDeleteSquirrels....they're a different problem (story).
I've got to think a bit more about "will the squirrels remember the pecans before the saplings take root?."
My husband was born and raised in one place, as were our children; I'm the outlier in our little nuclear family. And I have a love-hate relationship with squirrels, after one lived in our house for five days while we were gone...
DeleteI love the play on roots & routines here. Brilliant. Also, I am a fellow military brat, but I'd never heard the song before. I clicked on it (despite your earworm warning)and, well, I won't forget it soon. :)
ReplyDeleteI know, right, Amanda? It is such an earworm! But an appropo theme song for our BRAT-ness, I think.
DeleteLove the symbolism and parallelism of your last four lines (2 questions).
ReplyDeleteThank you, Alice! And the last line really is true these days, as I pull pecan saplings out of the potted plants that overwintered on our front porch....sigh.
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