when Teresa of Ávila, a Spanish mystic, was asked what she did in prayer, she replied, “I just allow myself to be loved.”

that’s how I feel about the person I wrote this song about. here’s Winona.

we all know someone like her — she’s offbeat, loves to stir things up, and might even have some quirks (maybe even a touch of kleptomania), but we love her because she embraces who she is and lets us do the same.

I saw my Winona browsing the poetry crates at Book Thug Nation, a secondhand bookstore in Brooklyn. what she was doing seemed more like “borrowing.”

* * *

WiNoNA I’m keeping it one hundred with you/I wanna find the real in what you’re saying/microdosing bookstore trips/caught you robbing Anne Sexton/lifting the best lines/from Wanting to Die, you’re my Winona/we’re kissing on the NY Times most wanted list/you say you hate it when the words don’t come/but I hate it when they finish/outside Book Thug on North 3rd/the birds are loud and you’re so pretty/hot as all get out and the rides at the beach/are banging around empty/tipping our cherry ice pops upside down with the humidity/you’re my Winona/we’re kissing/on the NY Times most wanted list/you say you hate it when the words don’t come/but I hate it when they finish

15 responses to “my Winona”

  1. beautiful song about a wonderful person that gives your life meaning and love, Cookie! Love the music and lyrics.. may we all have a Winona in our life! ❣️

    Liked by 2 people

    1. o, thanks, Cindy! I am blessed to have people walk into my life and songs. 🤍

      Liked by 1 person

      1. You’re so very welcome. Yes, you are.. so happy to hear that💕

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Thanks again cookie for the insights to your lyrics. Sorry! But I’m now future changing the word ‘lyrics’ related to your songs to ‘poetry’. The storytelling in your songs is poetically sublime. They would be fabulous in book form. The song? I keep using the words ‘hauntingly wonderful’ in my mind when listening to your song’s artistry. All the best cookie.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. poetic, I like that, Gray. thank you for listening to me and encouraging me.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. But that is what you produce cookie. Like Leonard Coen and others. Words that are insightfully rich and as much valued as the musical melodies that accompany the songs’ holistic vibes. Your blog followers and friends are already saying it. It shines out brightly in the substance of their worded replies. All the best cookie. And thanks for your own support of my own current journey too. It’s really appreciated.

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Beautiful. She sounds like a really cool person and you are just as cool to appreciate the quitkiness in people.

    Like

  4. A beautiful description of prayer. Thank you for sharing that quote and your sweet song. Made me think of a “Winona” I know. 😊 Thank you, cookie.

    Like

  5. well inspired and beautifully so, Cookie…
    and to many well expressed to our own “Winona”.

    just had to lol…” you hate it when the words don’t come/but I hate it when they finish…”
    me too…😉

    Liked by 1 person

  6. I enjoyed that song quite a bit. I love the twisting path your words take in it. Since it glancingly refers to Anne Sexton, did you know that Sexton formed what we’d call now-a-days an “Indie Rock Band” to perform her poetry with?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. she did? wow, that’s amazing. I like her stuff a lot.

      Like

      1. There are a bunch of recordings of the band “Anne Sexton and Her Kind” available here:

        https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/24/resources/11951/digital_only

        Liked by 1 person

      2. thanks! I will check them out.

        Like

Leave a reply to Cindy Georgakas Cancel reply