Awwwwww baby. We gotta go now...

on crumbly dry and summer hillsides

A lizard scuttles ‘long my roof, reminds me, “crane your neck!”

Mizz humming-goes-birding balanced there across the oak twig reminds me “lighter is best”.

And all the squalling jays come chorusing in the morning, reminding each other that “Over here? No over there. Over here perhaps.”

Meanwhile and just downhill, the ever-highway sends engine roars to echo up-canyon and dissipate.

Can only write it as it’s felt.

A weathered and wily, still fortunate son am I.

Mountains trees and rivers without end. I lay down to bask and cake atop the baking hillside – the hillside who’s no choice BUT to lay in the sun.

Put it all down in ink and somehow become alone again.

Slugging through the center of my apprenticehood to reality, and asking everywhere are you the teacher of fish?

and are you the fisher of fish-hooks under skin?

and are you the friend of deer?

A world full of women and men with bark for skin.

With death in every corner of the globe,

and Spring too.

Close your eyes and see if you can’t open the Hand of Thought

Let those concepts grow forceps

And scuttle away.

I was out for a run this morning when I happened upon a coyote.

We were both very simple,

silly even.

He stopped mid-trot

looked at me as if to think – “will it eat me?” and “will I eat it?”

I kept him in sight for two miles

before disappearing to the brush and middle way.