Shel Graves' Sensorium

Taste: raspberry oatmeal Sight: the golden sun rising on the day after Valentine's Sound: barking Touch: hand to hand connection—eyes-closed; the fox trot - slow, slow-quick, quick Smell: the office smells of roses Extra: fantasy language, twists of fate, published in multiple languages Grateful for: love

Taste: peanut butter powder Sight: the fairy tale inspired art of Catrin Welz-Stein  Sound: Jacqueline du Pre - Elgar cello concerto ; Virginia Woolf Touch: claws; freezing temperatures; bending back to roller paint the ceiling; cha-cha, hustle, waltz and fox trot Smell: cake batter; paint; kitty litter Extra: an industrial bathroom; ballroom dancing Grateful for: my hear, a comic book box

Why it springs to mind: The quote about her heart. Today is start of American Heart Month . Title: "The Bowl" Where read: The Girl in the Flammable Skirt (1998) story collection by Aimee Bender Length: five pages tops Memorable: loss, longing for something unknown Notable: written in second person, "you" Summary: A woman mysteriously receives a green fruit bowl as a gift and her boss dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. Origin:  "I actually have a green bowl from my grandmother that looks a lot like the bowl in the story and felt an interest in writing about it. Not sure why. The inexplicable mind." — Aimee Bender in a interview with Superstition Review , an online literary magazine Quote: "At lunch you order steamed vegetables because you're remembering that you have a heart too. You feel humbled by your heart, it works so hard. You want to thank it. You give your heart a little pat."  Personal attachment: Read this col...