Two steps

You are ahead of me.
I have your back
in sight
while dutifully following
your lead I am left
wondering how far behind
I will be left
looking for your steps
and contemplate your hurried
gait-

Need you sprint
in such fits and starts?

My heart gets louder
the further I am
from the life
I chase.

I can picture your intense
forward focus
and broad shoulders
pushing through
the warning signs.

It becomes easy to forget
you are not alone
without shadows for solace
without trepidation
for what lies
around the bend
and without a sense of where
and why we started
this journey
together.

You win.
I will take my time
and keep going without a
wasted scent.
The finish line
was not my destination
anyway
we will be tied
in the End.


Painting by Giovanni Boldini (1842-1931), 'The Summer Stroll' in Public Domain. 

Seed crystals like wildflowers

When wandering one warm day
I happened upon a daisy named Violet.

She was sitting quite peacefully
as purples happen to be muted 
when wild.

Quietly she rose,

bending her bulging bodice 
leaning her long neck 
upward toward dawn in dewy

Pink cheeks, pastel and seeking sun

Glistening
naturally, she begged for admiration amid
these murky velvet green ponds

sequenced with shimmered beads

fishing for focus
in a breeze

She
leads and unfurls
her pinched peach sail

To take in the open air,
To swallow this wishful

Baby's breathe blue day 
ahead of the flattened carpet
holding soles atop its rhizome net

keeping us occupied in valleys,

Blades trod on

by ambling and bumbling beings
led with hunger this way, 
by a sense of smell
and finding the forgotten flavor of flora

reasonable, enduring, reminiscent of days

when he loves me 
not 
when she loves me
enough to grow more
meadows made of these 

meandering memories

one settles with bees
and spreads 
happenstance in destiny's place. 





Painting by William Page Atkinson Wells [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

Finding my way to say

Knowing the words doesn't count for much.
Some sayings are worn thin,
and should be treated delicately,
like I love you.
As far as directions go-
make your own map,
my destination is different than yours.
I offer no solace, I cannot save myself.
I have quit only to find one must start again,
this is why you must love what you do.
Holding on is easy when your life depends on it.
Well-being is a verb that goes past tense.
I know all the words, this doesn't help much.






Image of painting by Pieter Claesz (1597/1598-1660) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.

The scenery in between

All the faces
in their cars, stopping, going
to and from
look so tired and miserable-
like they are being drug around,
he noticed.
When people walk,
they participate in the traveling.

Going Places,
she said
Look at him,
now he's going somewhere
and his air was lighter
the wind was with him
as they say.

Have you walked anywhere
without a destination,
and seen what's between
point B and A
(where are those located anyway)?

This thing stumbled upon
called ambling along-

not to ramble on too long
but wandering is no easy thing-

thankfully though,

it requires no licensed training.
Practice, yes,
lots of pedestrian practice,
yet even pacing is prior
enough preparation

for lack of destination.

The art of the amble:

when out walking
in a leisurely way
one can confidently say
I went somewhere today
without a point.




Image By Stupich, Martin, creator, Weeping Wall, Flathead County MT[Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons.