iced tea

fallen pine needles
silvery gold
in the white sunlight
and iced tea
in a transparent glass
Schroedinger's Cat
under Nietzche's Hat
each element -
iron, mercury, sulfur, titanium, for example-
still tagged with its own identity number:
how many protons in
a single atom's nucleus?

Smoothie

one slightly overripe banana
one ripe Bartlett pear, cored and peeled
3-4 smallish ice cubes
1 tablespoon frozen blueberries (i was running out)
about 1/3 cup orange sherbet
about a half cup of milk
secret ingredient: one frozen precooked sweet potato patty



Get the above ingredients in your blender and liquify. Voila.

Better than some of the very good smoothies I made earlier in the week when all my favorite ingredients were on hand - sometimes you find delicious by accident.

There was a webcam set up last spring above the nest of a Great Blue Heron high in a tree (or perhaps a light fixture) in New York state. I visited the website a few times. There was a counter on the page showing how many viewers were at that moment visiting the live ongoing activity of the bird incubating her eggs. There was a constant stream of chat in one corner, most of it superficial and only barely relevant. The bird appeared tense, on alert, even though there were no apparent threats near her perch, and I wondered if she was aware of, if she could sense, the over five hundred people watching her every move on their computers, pads, or smart phone screens.

i drew a picture
of an orange and its shadow.
then i drew a table beneath it
and the table turned into a fish
the orange and its shadow
within the fish

i've walked today
and there's a pleasure in seeing
a bike and its rider
crossing my path ahead
the wheels in motion
the legs pedaling

just the image
a kind of doorway
out of reach -
or a little wink

kids' books

one of the gifts of parenting is that one is continually introduced, or permitted to return to, the wonderful stories and books in the realm of childhood literature. The books for the younger kids are accompanied by glorious sometimes hilarious illustrations, with new little details to discover each time you read the book aloud to your youngster. (Because your youngsters will insist that you read their favorites over and over and over again.)

We then come up with the brilliant understanding that, hey, we can return to our own favorite books, including adult books, and read them again and again should we desire.

And I've come to discover, even though my kids are no longer little and there are none about, I can still read children's stories should I want to. Wandering in the Lafayette Public Library downtown a few weeks ago, I discovered 'The Twins' Blanket', a picture book by Hyewon Yum. I was spellbound by the simple prose, its calming everyday story, and the flowing colors of fine artwork. Since then, I've checked out several kids' books. They're easy on the stressed soul and that's good.

Here's the blog that got me thinking today about kids' books: Good Books for Young Souls

http://goodbooksforyoungsouls.blogspot.com

the next tide

carved out sand
warriors beach
the smell of the sea
wet debris
leaves, twigs
seaweed
the arrangement
fragile
perfect
so temporary
deranged within
the rumbling pulse
the tender pull
of the next tide

breathe in, breathe out

Running is not so much about the strength in your legs as it is about breathing. Our Physical Ed teacher in high school taught us that some experts recommended the count of a runner's breathing out should be slightly longer than the count for breathing in, for example, three counts in, four or five counts out. That was a tricky procedure for a first time track team runner, and I can't say that I got it right. However, as I picked up long distance jogging later in life, I did learn to consciously use that technique from time to time. What has been most helpful over the years has been simple awareness of the breath, and changing up the pattern a bit when fatigued during a run.

Mostly, though, when running I try to think like a migrating fish, or a bird flying long distance. Don't think at all.