A Morning Sojourn

down the road a mile or two I walked without a cane

feeling the sun and wind at my back pushing me on,

turning right onto a dirt road as birds mocked my presence

and a deer or two quickly jumped out-of-my-sight;

further down the dirt road I walked looking left and right

seeing nothing of interest on either side yet continued...

an old dead tree laid down its life in front of me

and a slithering snake slide inside its wooden coffin;

Oak, Birch, and Maple leaves stuck to the ground

and a nearby sassafras trees rose under a Dogwood

not trying to hide its noticeable leaves from me;

a shelter stood in a clearing off to the left and

furrowed ground off to the right...

its peaks frosted by the morning dew not melted away,

and with a sigh of relief I ventured forward as if

Marco Polo had been my father and taught me everything

except how to keep warm in a chilly morning breeze...

and as I ventured forward and further into the day

I came across a silver lake all smooth and forlorn

and there were no duck strolling on the pond

as I was lead to believe and not cranes either

as the old lady at the grocery store had warned

after giving me all my direction and a candy bar;

it was a pleasant walk and not too far it seemed

although I could have walked it quicker if I had a mind to

but it was just a walk to get me away from all the

clamor and glamour of moving to a new neighborhood.

November 2, 2020