LOVE LETTERS TO THE POOR, CHAP. 6
FEMALE, MALE,
The juxtaposition of opposites
I am a hunter and determined, focused seeker of beauty, of innocence, of the unsullied among the wasteland, the primal, the primordial, the profound, the stunningly unexpected and uplifting.
Not able to rely on a stuffed bank account does force your focus upwards to God, to His miracles, to His view and mastery. My 31 year experience of living as a lower income person in a very expensive big city did hone my survival skills and is a continuing theme in these ongoing essays on trusting God to walk along the way with you, through thick and thin and an excellent Teacher He is!
In my three+ decades of living in downtown San Francisco, ending in summer 2011 and including my 17 years as a residential leasing agent, precocious eccentricities, oddments and juxtapositions were frequent and a core of what kept me going, These steadily kept my inquisitive nature on the move and finely honed.
A high rise girl I am not but high rises certainly perform a needed function for big city residents, especially young professionals in Financial district employment. I showed small apartments in high rises as an ongoing part of my leasing agent work in San Francisco. One building I often showed apartments in was a modern tall building on Harrison St. near the base and eastern tip of SOMA (South of Market.)
Most of the apartments in a modern high rise were what I called "sublime utility," in that they were basic, functional, streamlined with blank off-white walls, simple room structure and layout. Little charm but pure elegant function.
One particular studio I showed at this Harrison building in SOMA was on 4th or 5th floor, facing East to the Bay and the intense brawn of the Bay Bridge. First thing that greeted me upon arrival was the western span of the bridge in the picture window. A 7-mile long journey spanning the SF bridge on-ramp through Treasure Island and completion to the East Bay arterial freeways, the Bay Bridge is formidable and fast. Not to be ignored, the bridge dominated the view, a masculine intensity roaring off it. Standing at the window and gazing at the powerful presence, my phone in hand as I awaited prospective tenant visitors, I was suddenly aware of slight movement in my peripheral vision. Glancing to my left, I was delighted to see an unexpected scene of a slender feminine arm reaching for items on a young lady's dressing table, with multiple perfume bottles, makeup, skin care bottles, hair care items and small jewelry.
I could not see the face or full body of the lady, only the slender delicacy of her arm reaching in a gentle movement. I was momentarily entranced by her quiet and almost meditative movements, as she clearly enjoyed her " dressing table", an icon of a gentler feminine past. Her arm was not grabby or aggressive but awash in the beauty of the moment.
What an unexpected and transcendent moment of the juxtaposition of eternal opposites, male and female! The roaring male bridge beside the tender feminine arm enjoying her beauty items, truly an amazing moment this was. When scenes like this catch you off-guard, that makes them much more special!
In my entire 31 years of living in downtown San Francisco, I had a myriad of these small moments, enough to sustain my sensitive soul spirit and keep me going for yet another day. For a humble poetic soul, a solid link with God is a sheer life-saver and a portal to the spiritual realm on a major invisible scale.
Wendy Williams March 22, 2023
As a native San Franciscan, I've never heard the Bay Bridge described that way. Loved it!!!