Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
Ode to July, Past, Present, Future
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| Afterglow Catherine Al-Meten |
Ode to July, Past, Present, Future
July 1, 2013
Iced tea, lemon ade
Vichyssoise, Gazpacho
Lazy summer days.
Bonfires, barbecues
picnics, softball games
Lazy summer evenings.
Barefoot walks in the sand,
rafting streams and wild rapids
Quiet talks on the veranda.
Sleep outs in the backyard,
Swimming beneath the stars,
Time stops in memories.
Long walks to cool libraries
Chores at home, trips afar
Changing pace of life.
Swimming beyond the breakers,
Riding a wave to shore
Feeling the warm sun on my body.
Scent of suntan lotion, seaweed
Chocolate malts, bean bandits from Don Juan’s
Friends at ease on beach towels beside me in the sand.
Sparklers, lighting the patio and our spirits
Indoor picnics to escape the heat
Twilight Zone marathons.
Picking strawberries, making ice cream
Fishing in the bay or from a pier
Enjoying crab louis, a game of hearts, and simply being near.
Reunions, reveries, long talks and sleepless nights.
Falling asleep in sleeping bags by fires
Waking to tree tops edging the morning sky.
Long drives up the interstate
Vapor lock, iced cold cola in tiny bottles
Hours of counting box cars go by.
Washing windows, cleaning out rooms
Painting and finding long hours to read
Baking cakes, listening to Mother’s stories.
Sleeping round a pool,
watching for Ufos in the night sky
Wondering about the future.
Reading Dostoevsky, Uris, and Du Maurier
Watching The Blob from behind my fingers
Escaping into fantasy, history, the past.
The Source, Forever Amber, Crime and Punishment
War and Peace, Gifts from the Sea, Mr. Wicker’s Window
Treasure Island, and biographies of all the lost queens.
Summer camps and campers
Foray into self discovery, apart from known to unknown
Gazing across vistas of endless mountain ranges.
Riding along steep mountain trails on a painted pony
Sleeping beneath the stars
Casting my lot to the life of a gypsy.
Lazy mornings waking to white sheets and sunlight
Swimming, and paddling ‘round Avalon harbor
Watching the ship leave harbor, hearing the bells of
St. Catherine’s.
Ship rides between the Island and mainland
Rocking decks, sea spray by the lifeboats
Flying fish and dolphins in the moonlight.
Steaming up car windows
Driving all night for adventure
Sailing at midnight back to land.
Peaceful haven in Father’s garden
Safe and comfort in Mother’s kitchen
Seeking sanctity in a room of my own.
Velvet days, nights along the river
Fluid, constant flow of life
Quiet, peaceful sacred life.
Surrounded by tall stands of pines, yew, and alder
Summer painting evening sky’s glory
Salmon, birds, people flowing back and forth on the tide.
Fewer clothes, more skin
Everything a’flowering
Breath of life alive, warm, immediate.
July--the middle of everything
raw and sacred
naked in the wind,
alive in the moment
taste life’s pleasures
feel the richness, freedom,
of being wholly real.
July promises hope
less of everything
greater joy in the essence
of simple, basic, pleasures.
Casting light on each
task as if it were a
miracle.
And of course, it is.
Catherine Al-Meten
Copyright@2013
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