back to school

The best summer ever
Maybe not for you, but for me
Seeing you being so capable
Working your busy life.

You love working with children
And you love doing crafts
So you got up in the morning
Happy to be off to day camp.

You enjoy being a sociable waitress
And you liked the restaurant boss.
You got practice speaking Spanish
Serving immigrant clientele.

You found time to tutor a young Korean
Practicing the methods you learned in college.
Your bank account balance went up
Enough to see you through next year.

You made sure to have time for friendships
For going places and having fun together.
I see the emerging adult doing so well.
Nothing is better than that.

black river kay center august

slide show
google map

the view from here

The view from here is big picture
A bird’s eye view of old main street
And the new pier development
Looking out across the estuary.

Old people live in the new condos
And new people live in the old houses.
The old timers move away and pass on.
This is the face of gentrification.

You need day care for two two-year-olds
But the village day care center next door is closed.
There are very few young children here now.
That’s the trend in this now trendy place.

I moved away more than 20 years ago
When these changes were being chosen
Having failed to win the mayor election
As if to reverse the tide of history.

You are here now volunteering
Bringing new blood to the fire department
On call driving the ambulance
Going out in the river for underwater rescue.

I am happy you have this magnificent view.
I see optimism embodied in two young children.
I hope that your new relationship works out
And you succeed in making your life in this place.

accentuate the positive

Memory is mutable.
It changes a little each time you go there.
Like remembering a dream
The memory is not the dream.

But it’s my memory.
It really happened to me.
I really experienced the feelings
Even if it only happened inside me.

Eyewitness testimony is suspect.
One person’s memory some time later
Morphs into their subjective story
Merged into their imagination.

There is no written record in the mind.
The story of our past is like an oral history
Altered over time being told again and again.
This is the way we make our own myths.

Like becoming aware of yourself dreaming
You can modify your negative memories.
Explore the picture in your mind.
Focus for a moment on some beauty or pleasure.

The memory will be transformed.
Whatever happened is not forgotten
But now the positive response changes it
And your outlook on life improves.

Freylinghausen August flowers

slide show

wallkill valley rail trail southern

slide show
google map

sixty six

I remember standing beside the beautiful brook
Motionless, listening and looking
Babbling water splashing on the rocks
Below and above mingling on the surface.

There are wary brook trout here
Spooked by a shadow or a footfall.
My mother is fishing by herself this summer day.
She let me come with her to watch.

All my life I have loved water flowing
Rippling waves sparkling in the sun
Gurgling sounds not quite intelligible
Speaking to me like a voice in a distant dream.

Another time standing on a log across a brook
Stirring the water below with a stick
Blissed out by the beauty of the place
I fell into the brook.

The shock of that sudden wet and cold
And my father’s reprimand that followed
That’s why the memory is etched
But it's not the memory I keep close.

The boy down by the brook by himself
Floating in a timeless reverie.
I remember the peaceful feeling
Letting my thoughts flow past.

responding to beauty

Rosie delights in the happy children’s faces
Pictured by the waterfall at the end of the hike.
She says they are responding to beauty
As she is likewise responding to their beauty.

Rosie’s name is not a misnomer.
She is such an upbeat person.
For ninety-something years now
A better world’s in birth.

Rosie doesn’t get out much these days
But I can share my photos with her.
She likes landscapes and people best
And shares back her critique of my artistry.

It pleases me when she enjoys my images.
My collection connects me with her.
We are both responding to the beauty around us.
I am happy to know this beautiful person.

sky vapors appreciation

slide show

Ridgefield WA

slide show