paterson great falls in winter

slide show

making do

Starting the long descent down the mountain

You needed a walking stick.

With miles ahead on the wet steep rocky trail

The jungle is no place for a fall.

Usually you are the one who sees a solution

The engineer who makes it better

While I muddle my way making do with what is.

That day we shared a moment of happiness.

I saw the palm frond in the debris next to us

And found it would do perfectly

Easily trimming and breaking it to size

Creating a light but strong staff for you. 

Seeing your delighted smile

Such pleasure for me to solve a problem

To feel effective having skills.

This is a gift you give to me. 

silent images

Silent images come to mind.

Watching the scene asleep or awake.

Without words, what does it mean?

Images etched in my memory.

Sometimes in a dream someone speaks to me.

It’s a shock to hear their voice.

I answer back, agitated, and wake up

And remember the image of the person.

The images were ours before we had words.

In the beginning was imagination.

The words were ours before we had writing.

Our culture begins with oral tradition.

The memorizers construct stark images

Using a technique thousands of years old

Placing the images in remembered places.

Total recall revisiting imagined settings.

The rest of us remember less and less.

We have databases in the information age.

Of course we remember some things

Being aware of the past in the present.

People used to keep family photo albums.

Now the images are digital and online.

You can view my slide show if you like

Seeing the images holding my memories.

You can see what’s in my mind’s eye.

I can look again closely at a moment in time.

It works for me to keep this collection

Documenting the world around me.

overpeck estuary eagles

slide show
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