Monday, January 24, 2022

repeat loop

This place is not the place for me year round

But the temperature is right for now

And the beaches are lovely

And the swamps are full of wildlife


In the second week of our third month in Florida

There’s a repeat loop to our experience

What we see and do every day

Going on walks in nature preserves


We’re not heading back home until the birds fly north

Not until the trees leaf out in the middle of April

Returning to the Appalachian bedrock scraped by the glaciers

Going to a landscape of varied geology and habitats


There's a flat sameness here with no elevation change

With everything barely above sea level

Built on slabs on mounds inches above the water table

Even as the rising sea creeps further inland


For sure it's an excellent place for a seasonal stay

To escape the confines of bitter cold weather

That draws so many others like us to come as well

But if not for winter we wouldn't be here


If not for so many things our lives would be different

Looking back on our circumstances and choices

And all the events that have shaped our time

But here we are still keeping on keeping on


For as long as we can we plan to continue this way

Freed from the daily tasks of work to pay the bills

No longer anchored to a job or any place

Just letting the days we have show up and come to us