Stuffed Animal Saturday [22]

Stuffed Animal Saturday is a meme that we post here at We Live and Breathe Books to showcase the book we're currently reading with one of our favorite stuffed animals and discuss our stuffed animal's opinion (well, it's really our opinion, but that's besides the point). We hope you enjoy our quirky feature as much as we enjoy writing it!

This Saturday, Loki the full-sized cardboard cutout and I are reading Into the Dark and Emptying Field by Rachel McKibbens. Yes, I am 100% aware Loki is not technically a stuffed animal but you should be 100% aware that you should stop living life on technicalities because he is stuffed full of life and joy and my love. In a totally normal way. Anyway...

So far: Loki, who grew up with royalty and has high tastes, loves poetry, much like this one English actor, Tom Hiddleston, who looks quite like him. Therefore, he was delighted to find that I chose a poetry book for us to read (I know, I just reviewed one recently, what can I say, I have a type) and loves all the poetry inside because it chills him to his bone, which he knew it would because he's familiar with Rachel McKibben's work and bought the book because she's so great.

Sneak peek: Loki and I both agree that choosing an excerpt from Rachel McKibben's writing is so difficult because everything she writes is so phenomenal, but after fighting a bit, we decided to share an excerpt of a poem (if you want any more you'll have to either wait for the review or just stalk her existence and listen to all her poetry -- I recommend doing both). This is the third stanza of a poem titled "Three Wishes" so it's the "third wish" and Loki and I both agree that this poem is one of our favorites:

XII. SOME PEACE AND QUIET

At first I missed the sound of Mama singing
as she washed dishes. I even missed the forks,
how they chimed as she stacked them in the drawer.
I missed the colicky howls of Inez and the deep gulps
of milk rolling into her belly. I missed the snap of
teeth biting into an apple, the tinny sound of the doorbell,
the waiting sound right before the phone rang.
I missed Papa clearing his throat as he turned
each page of the morning paper. 

Now I only really miss the sound of my own voice.
I can still remember it. If I had to describe it
to someone I just met, I would say it looks like this:
a gold skinned woman in a gown of honey bees pinning love notes to the bottom of the sea. 

Not only was this stanza great but Loki and I thought the whole poem was absolutely beautiful but we have to keep some element of mystery, don't we?

- Noor

Are you and your stuffed animal reading anything interesting? 

Let us know in your own Stuffed Animal Saturday!