WALK #56

I paused my walk and watched every act of the garbage truck as it picked up trash. The experience provided so much pleasure as I walked in place. Previously unknown fact about me: I loathe having even the smallest bit of trash in the house and take said garbage out to the garage bin more often than the household requires. Previously (mostly) unknown fact about my husband: he thinks I'm cracked for this and other reasons. But at least this predilection is benign. The non-benign stuff is saved for poems.

Philosophy

A truck takes 

away my

garbage--

the implication is

what's left

behind

is precious. I'll

take it--

look

at what our

world has

become.

At home, all

dogs and

cats

know they are 

allowed to

sleep 

on our bed.

They radiate

warmth.

WALK #55

Hm. I think this is my weakest riff so far off of WCW's Red Wheelbarrow poem, but it is what it is:

The Orange Tractor

so much depends
upon

an orange
tractor

smudged with night
soil

attacking hills of
manure

Happily, the Neighbor Nods Yes!

"Orange you happy

to get

rid

of fragrant hills

of night

soil?"

WALK #54

I saw another found poem in the sense of it being inspired by William Carlos Williams' iconic poem, "The Red Wheelbarrow." I just might start a series contextualizing objects from my walks into this poem's structure. The first was "The Orange Trailer." This is the second:

THE ORANGE FIRE HYDRANT

so much depends

upon

an orange fire

hydrant

shawled by gray

mist

beside a green

vineyard

Hope's Sculpture

I was surprised

the fire

hydrant

was painted orange,

not red.

Then 

I learned how

orange symbolized

optimism.

How fitting for

a wine

country

that's been ravaged

by several

wildfires.

WALK #53

On the one hand, I can’t believe the year is unfolding itself so swiftly. On the other hand, I just felt my unapologetically favorite holiday of Christmas peek at me with its vivid colors. May it be radiant later this year… because this year, despite its pleasures, does not spare its torture. 

Waiting for Christmas

Certain things cannot

arrive too

early

like a radiant

rose sheen

cast

across days under

a Bethlehem

star. 

WALK #52

When a road ends in mist, it mirrors life: we do not know the conclusion until it arrives as an end.

Life

Certain roads are

worth traveling 

because

they don't reveal

how they

end.

WALK #51

The sublimity of fine wine is impossible to achieve without tending to those who labor for such sublimity. Though it's not oft discussed, the sublime requires work. And so we tend to workers by bringing them toilet stalls where they labor. And the fact that these twin portable stalls are positioned by small hills of manure remind that, actually, human poop is not as good for composting manure as the poops of cows, horses, chickens, and even llamas. (Why do I know this shit? Because I write novels and poems.) That said, I cannot see a bathroom in all its versions nowadays without thinking of Jenifer K Wofford's brilliant toilet art. It includes her book Portable Toilets of the Western World (last image) that she describes as (chuckle):

"extended field work in the decaying remains of Western civilization. // Sites include Italy, Norway, Denmark, Vatican City, the Czech Republic and the United States of America, with considerable research undertaken in the San Francisco Bay Area and greater New Orleans."

Toilet art teaches that a Muse can be found anywhere. 

Open-mindedness

Poop teaches how

"writer's block"

becomes

"fake news"--look

around and

unblock.

The opposite of

"obstructed" is

"open."

WALK #50

If walking is an exercise in observation, I'd give myself a grade no higher than a C. My mediocre grade results from belatedly realizing that harvest is underway. If I'd been truly observant, I would have noticed that harvest started simply from seeing the grapes stripped from the vines. Instead, it wasn't until I stumbled across a tractor hauling away some grapes that I realized harvest season has arrived. After mentally smacking moiself on the head, I began to grin. Harvest in wine country means that, soon, the air will be perfumed by grapes lusciously fermenting across the valley--it's a wonderful smell. You get drunk on its resonance rather than alcohol. And, inevitably, you make a memory. Here are some favorite quotes regarding fragrance:

Perfume makes silence talk.” – Sonia Rykiel

“Perfume is a story in odor, sometimes poetry in memory.” – Jean-Claude Ellena

“Love is a perfume you cannot pour onto others without getting a few drops on yourself.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Beauty is an ecstasy; it is as simple as hunger. There is really nothing to be said about it. It is like the perfume of a rose: you can smell it and that is all.” – W. Somerset Maugham

Longing

Grapes ferment air

to bring

you

back to me

through your

fragrance

still lingering within

my longing

hair