This past week, I traveled overseas by myself for the first time in a very long time. It gave me a chance to look at things and think about things slowly, without interruption. Spending time near lakes, I found myself staring off across the surface of the water many times, just staring at and watching the various reflections move and distort as the wind played with the surface of the water.
1
reflections
in the water
I remember
We’ve all had these, those conversations with friends and family that have been years in the making, the moment when you’re finally alone and you can say whatever is on your mind, whatever has been weighing you down.
2
baring herself
the moon fills the sky
I can’t get a word in
This is one that needs no introduction outside of, perhaps, chicken divan. How many people know this dish? I wonder.
If you know what it is, or don’t know, leave me a comment below.
3
chicken divan
after all these years
mom’s homemade cooking
Family can be, well, awkward. Skeletons in the closet, elephants in the room, for whatever reason, they have a way of piling upon family histories, sometimes across generations.
Everyone, I suspect, will have or has moments in their lives when they are faced with making decisions about whether to be courageous enough to talk about these things or just let sleeping dogs lie.
4
dancing on the lake
our shadows almost touching
things left unsaid
This is a poem that is based on an experience, but I’d rather not comment on it because I think allowing the reader to provide the context, or imagine the context, gives it strength and depth.
5
medication
on the countertop
a day late
The tiny things you see when sitting alone, and the feelings they can evoke, the meanings they can have. It’s interesting how we can create narratives from nothing. How we can find visual references in the world around us and apply them to ourselves and our current situations in ways that seem significant, but in reality, probably aren’t.
6
grass along the tarmac
bowing in the wind
goodbye for now
Poetry, I think, is allowed to be trivial and humorous. There is a place for simple, basic observations of everyday objects like this one.
In today’s world, which has changed so much in the past twenty years, I wonder how many of you can relate to this poem, and the surprise of finding something like this in an airport restroom these days.
7
a dinosaur
in the bathroom
push button flush toilet
As always, thank you for reading.
