moving day

I comment wearily “My life in a box.”

As I see yet another wheeled towards me

By the worker unloading the truck on moving day.

He hears me say this and replies

“Mi vida en una caja.” translating for me.

English is his second language.

My move is local in the same county.

His move is long distance from another country

To another language and discrimination.

I am moving a few miles further away

Planning to enjoy senior citizen free time.

I will unpack and settle into my easy life.

He is an immigrant seeking work

Hoping to make a decent living here.

Today our lives cross in passing.

Quiet Serenity

In the stillness of the redwood grove morning

We are alone.  You sit quietly, listening to the hush.

I photograph you next to the quote from Shakespeare

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”

The giant trees spread their greenery high above us

On trunks that rise up and up all around us.

We have come here from far away to admire

Their majestic presence enduring here.

These old trees were here before the settler invasion

Now lingering remnants of the great coastal forest.

We breathe in the clean air, speaking few words

Absorbing the calm, forming a memory of this place.

Walking to the nearby river running clear and pure

Walking the path up the creek under all these trees

Standing uncut, towering higher than any we know

Back home, where everything has been cut and cut again.

This place is awesome.  The only sound our footsteps

Softly padding on the deep humus forest floor.

Looking about I see the outlines of strange creatures

Formed by the huge burls on the trunks of some trees.

My imagination animates those figures and I want to hear

What these ancient forest denizens might say to me.

You are so grounded your thoughts do not stray

Seeing these trees for the magnificence they are.

back to school day

Back to school day in Wyckoff starts very early

For the new fifth grade teacher in her first class ever.

I take photographs of my daughter as she departs

Ready to greet the children in her class.

Back to school day fills the sidewalk here

In Leonia as I walk to the market early morning.

Children with their parents excited and happy

Greeting friends going to the next grade.

The crossing guard at Fort Lee Road is on high alert

Shouting at a driver who fails to heed his stop sign.

I imagine the arrival scene at Coolidge School in Wyckoff

Thinking good thoughts about my daughter’s first day.

My friend’s wife sees me and calls out as I wait to cross.

Her husband is away now for some months on business.

We talk about how hard it is for her and the children.

Later he texts me that he had some talk with them last night.

Tonight over dinner we will hear all about the big day

Then resume packing for our upcoming move in three weeks.

Tomorrow looks to be another good day.

It’s good to be together and sharing out lives.

minnewaska castle point carriage road trail

album

oregon 2014

yachats arrival	cape perpetua environs
oregon fog, agates, dunes, crabs, coast	coquille to rogue river transit day
rogue river gold beach	boardman coastal trail to crescent city and hiouchi woodworker
jedidiah smith redwoods to klamath river and crescent city	prairie creek redwoods klamath river mouth rogue river upstream
umpqua river walk eugene august roses	eugene willamette park portland gardens