Around Us
We need some pines to assuage the darkness
when it blankets the mind,
we need a silvery stream that banks as smoothly
as a plane’s wing, and a worn bed of
needles to pad the rumble that fills the mind,
and a blur or two of a wild thing
that sees and is not seen. We need these things
between appointments, after work,
and, if we keep them, then someone someday,
lying down after a walk
and supper, with the fire hole wet down,
the whole night sky set at a particular
time, without numbers or hours, will cause
a little sound of thanks–a zipper or a snap–
to close round the moment and the thought
of whatever good we did.
-Marvin Bell
I have to admit, I wanted to go on strike today. But I’ve come this far so I need to power through. I found this picture of a turkey feather from a walk in Lithia Park back in September. I searched and hunted and hunted and searched for a poem to go with it. I finally said just let me find something I like and went into the November pages of my 365 poems for every occaision book. I started at the end of the month and worked back and this was the first one that resonated. And it spoke of a wild thing so it seemed appropriate enough.