Thursday, August 31, 2023
Monday, August 28, 2023
picture this
Picture a young science teacher on an adventure
After a last minute invite to join a summer expedition
To make a rainforest tree inventory recording girth and height
Traveling to the opposite end of the earth
From northeast New Jersey to northeast Australia
Encountering plants animals stars all new and different
Absorbing the experience working hard getting around
Finding a way through the dense forest growth
Teamed up in pairs to survey designated areas
Their challenging task how to measure elevation
Needing to figure out the best way to get it done
Inspiring our friend to use himself to gauge the height
Visualize this person standing at the base of a tall tree
Smiling quite pleased by his human yardstick presentation
Having drawn one foot lines across his shirt and pants
Marking himself up into the unit of measurement
As I heard the story after half a century gone by
It seems that shirt came back as a cherished souvenir
And his classroom the next year featured rainforest lessons
And the annual science fair included a rainforest room
The person here in front of me talking today
Contending with the challenges of illness and age
Lights up when recalling this happy memory
Bringing back that smile for me to see
Sunday, August 27, 2023
Thursday, August 24, 2023
Wednesday, August 23, 2023
Tuesday, August 22, 2023
Monday, August 21, 2023
background conversation
A stream of words often emerges in the dark
Lying in bed with the lights out waiting to drift off
A jumble of seemingly aimless brain activity
Lost in the night forgotten by morning
As if reading with my eyes closed
Disjointed phrases briefly appear
Incomplete thoughts that soon fade away
Without making any sense of my life
No great revelations but sometimes ideas
If there is something to construct or repair
Searching for a solution to a practical problem
Wanting to be able to figure it out
The words come on their own
Not summoned by me intentionally
Not possible for me to stop them
So I let them flow unimpeded
Treating it as a background conversation
A kind of idle chatter running it course
Until listening to it no longer holds my interest
Releasing me at last into eventual sleep
Sunday, August 20, 2023
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