~
Rooted in the Greek word for “riddle”
I steady myself
in the middle of the stream
So much rain
I wish I’d worn back straps on my flip flops
standing in the strong current
but
I’ll not wander in the side eddies
where the slickest algae
coats the surface of the stones
still idling there
passing time as if singular
feigning reflection
an intoxicated accumulation
of over fertilized organic matter
girdling themselves
as if they could hold on to the ground
~
My days have been emptying
full of the feeling that I’m living
in two separate realities
More than a waiting game
too much hard evidence
A pack that needs to be cleaned out
and made into a traveling case of essentials
fit for lifting off and moving
in even faster flowing water.
~
~
photo credit: Russell Tomlin Flickr
~
Poetry of Light 
Levels on levels on levels here, Jana, and so abundantly worthwhile to read and reread.
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Thank you Bonnie…My grand daughter and I found red leaves the other day walking to the library and a mature eucalyptus tree here in the mountains! My horticultural worlds are combining/colliding. We collect specimens as we walk along.
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And both of you collect vivid memories. So valuable.
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Wonderful, wonderful poem! And what a great title for a book of poetry (from line eight above) — “Wandering in the Eddies!” I truly love your poetry and look forward to luxuriating in more of it as summer slowly turns to fall, ** 🙂 **
Warmest Respect & Admiration,
-R-
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Why thank you R… your response is as warm as my radiator that has been coming on the past few nights. The squirrels are frantic digging in black walnut pods and the tomatoes that never saw the sun this summer blacken on their spindly vines. I can’t remember a summer without tomatoes…but the trees are lush
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This is beautiful! That last stanza especially speaks to me, the thought of living in two realities, of needing to slough off the unessential, “moving into ever faster flowing water.” Perfect.
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Thank you Deborah…I too feel a quickening. All chaos and wonder. I’m refusing to name it, define it … other than to follow in its current. I’m very much enjoying your posts lately!
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Ah….water and movement. In lovely and wrestling ruminations. May your current carry you on a ride that continues to inspire you, Jana, and thereby, us. Xo
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Thank you Chloe….yes, always water and movement! A most consistent teacher. The rivers are full here and the creeks are like rivers…beautiful in burnt sienna and turquoise.
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Beautiful. I absolutely love the line about wishing you had worn the back straps on your flip flops. It is so real, so tangible…so universal no matter what we wear on our feet. Thank you, be well~
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Thank you! Flip flops are more than a metaphor of summer. They keep me balancing in every terrain…certainly pausing now and again to meditate on the transition between planes of substance… and existence. Very spiritual footwear!
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going back to the basic…the bare essentials…T.S. Elliot once wrote this profound line: “In my end is my beginning.”
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Ah yes…the ouroboros transcending time. Or not! Thank you Virgilio, I appreciate barefoot meditations.
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happiness
is
knowing
~
nothing
and
no one
can truly belong
to us
~
there
is
freedom
knowing
~
everything belongs
somewhere
sometime
within
our
universe
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Balance balance balance
said the caterpillar
All things are equal
said the butterfly
time
l
e
s
s….trust
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walking
with my daughter
to the river
~
I spotted a snail
under a leaf
she saw a strange bug
crawling near it
~
chaotic
wonder
meandering forward
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Thank you for inspiring my next post Mr. Yang.
Most sincerely,
Ms. Yin
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Always there
to
yin / yang / yank
your
creative chain
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dear Jana, your language here moves with a fluid energy, a deep emotional velocity … you cherish small things on the quest for meaning — flip flops, algae — and this is one aspect i love most about your lyric meditations. xo tony
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Thank you Tony… Of course! My life is full of small things to treasure. I’m like a moving planet of small things. Your kindly comments animate them all the more!
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This is just wonderful. Your poem flows like water, from one perfect expression to the next with such ease, that I cannot pick my favourite line, or verse. Your journey quickens, you are already treading the even faster flowing water, flip-flops with back-straps or no.
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As I read this back Teri, I think I’ve taken our favorite Hopi poem to heart..and feet!
It is growing in me…words that are kept alive with the retelling….
http://www.communityworks.info/hopi.htm
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“into a traveling case of essentials” What a great metaphor. Rich poem. I studied Latin n Greek as a Classics minor at Univ of PA (way back). =)
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Hello! I also studied Latin…for three years in high school. Now I have the perfect head for horticultural nomenclature…thank you Caesar and Catullus!
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He he wonderful.
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Wow this is incredible!
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Thank you…I’m glad you found something here
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