Random Impressions....

Star Colors In Orion, credit & copyright: Jens Hackmann from the NASA website (www.apod.nasa.gov/apod/ap110211.html)

Random Impressions On A Day In Which I Feel Sorry For Myself

Coffee grounds in the sink, telling me nothing

cat barf on the dining room rug

there for a moment, then mysteriously gone when I come back with a damp paper towel

the recollection of a question at meditation that I cannot answer

and the lingering scent of sage incense on my sweater

exquisite light of the rising sun on the vines that smother my neighbor's towering hackberry tree

the merlin who perches on a branch to ruffle his scruffy winter feathers, unhurried

the recollection of a zendo visit where a spider as large as my thumb crept to my meditation mat

and how I flicked this spider onto a neighboring mat

and then wondering for months later, why did I do that?

a little guilt, a little remorse

more a question un-answered

the grind and beep of the garbage truck across the street

and the taste of water from the gym water fountain

Eddie Money singing, "I've got two tickets to paradise...."

while I take my car once more to the mechanic

another 600 dollars

sidewalks inhabited by street folk who walk slowly beyond my eye's gaze

and think about sleep

their backpacks are leaden weights

wooden table

plastic fork

paper cup

an apple with skin slightly puckered near the stem

(and where in the world is the tree from which it was plucked)

crows feet at the edges of the eyes in the mirror

a grumbling stomach

a body that needs heat

skin on skin

barely time to register the need

ice on the sidewalk, sidestepped

a whole bunch of bananas, slipped from a bag and crushed in the street

or thrown from a passing car

the recollection of a long, long black snake

one summer

crushed on the black top

and the neighbor asking, who would run over a snake

my husband's hand in mine

on another street, a man crawling into his home from his wheelchair

you tell me

at least we have the use of our legs

the car overnight with the mechanic

the aroma of a sweet potato left too long in the oven

and finally sliding into bed

cold feet first

legs that guide a final destination with inexorable purpose

the body curls around a lovely space

that defines emptiness

and everything else in the universe