NOW WHAT?
GOT THE ITCH?
Got to move out of the house
enough of being a scared mouse
Let’s get on the road again
to that NY Bagel Bakery
and have a spending spree.
We can get dozens for the freezers
of all our neighbor’s, the old geezers.
After we go early to Freedom Park
we get that exploration spark,
off to the ancient Calusa Indian Mound.
we walk and walk in scorching heat
lost and circling all around
until we are complete and beat.
Next step the Tarpon Inn Kontiki bar
here we can safely drink a beer
resting in the delightful shade
under the fans whirring blade.
Driving back home 60 miles
we search for those lobster rolls,
but our tasty dream unfolds,
its Sunday and the place is closed.
Driving on we think - more food!
Sushi from Saki could be good
we call to order and drop in
taking it home after our spin.
quite a day of venturing out
finally ending our traveling drought.
IT IS WHAT IT IS
You never know what to expect
yesterday a black skimmer flew low
swooping and performing aerobatics.
Today, in the last hours of golden daylight
i wait and watch for my skimmer,
as no-see-ums start nibbling my ankles
and other insects buzz my ears.
Now an unusual green dragonfly hovers
landing on the tall grasses
while moor hens shrill loudly behind me.
No skimmer comes back today.
Nature always has some delight for me.
Early morning in the pine scrub uplands
the red, brown and yellow grasshoppers
pile on top of each other ignoring social distancing
as I carefully step around them to not disturb
their sacred moments.
The single ones hop out of my way
clumsily doing backflips into the sand.
Meanwhile it is the season for virtual political conventions,
each party making a case for change or no change
while safely avoiding unnecessary physicality.
We are grateful this time of physical isolation
has been made easier by our library, zoom, Apple,
Amazon, Netflix and the internet.
Here we are, Kassandra and I with our friends,
Egrets, herons, deer, lizards, frogs and rabbits
that ignore us if we move carefully and respectfully.
They freeze, staying perfectly still - playing possum
we pretend not to see them and they feel safe.
I feel itchy, not just because of the biters,
I want to travel again, go on long silent walks
visit new places and see old friends,
but this is not yet the time.
Instead we have time for inner journeys,
meditation, reflection, learning and Ichigo Ichie.
Time to connect with nature around us,
like the gopher tortoise that has strolled up.
I sit down low, looking into his eyeballs
we start to stroll along together, along the pond’s banks.
My long distance walk is replaced, for now
by this gentle animal trusting me
to walk together in silence as the sun sets.
It is what it is - a perfect moment, a gift of grace.
©MartinStrasmore2020
What you just heard was Kassandra playing her crystal bowls, which, like gongs, can evoke that inner stillness in you.
Please go to thewalkingpoet.net to see photos and videos that relate to this and other episodes. Gopher tortoises are federally protected. They are very social animals, can live to be 80 years old, and they share their burrows with over 300 other species.
On the blog page you can hear a message about the non profit PRASAD (Prasad.org) which is doing great work in America and India to help people in even harder situations than normal due to the pandemic. We really appreciate your feed back and ideas which you can give us through the walking poet website.