Absolute Trust in the Goodness of the Earth Read Free Page B

Amazon, a giant snail crawled uphill to lie in the doorway of my
tambo
(hut) every morning. According to shamanic wisdom, the animal who comes to you at least four times while you are on a medicine quest is your power animal.
    That’s the thing
About poems
You never know
When
They’re going to crawl up
The hill
Stick out their wrinkled
Necks
& rest in your
Front door.
    I was just here
Feeling
Overdressed
That I am
Too warm
Yet craving
Hot soup.
    Between the
Boiling
Of the soup
& the tasting
Of it
I see my dog
Shift her body
Wondering why we’re always
On the road
I see the house
I’ve made
Substantial
Solid
That I carry on my back
Like a shell.

In Everything I Do
    In everything I do
There is an animal.
A cat, a dog
A snake
A bird
Or a chameleon.
An elephant
A turtle
A chicken or
A mouse.
The monkey
Is my special
Love
My totem
Ever since
I was born
& they commented
How much
I resembled
One.
Then I grew up
To learn
How very
Clever
Intelligent
Wise
Funny
& sweetly
Beautiful
The monkey
Is
& how
It is tortured.

The Writer’s Life
    During those times
I possess the imagination to ignore
The chaos
    I live
The writer’s life:
I lie in bed
Gazing out
The window.
    To my right
I notice
My neighbor
Is always painting
And repainting
His house.
To my left
My other neighbor
Speaks of too much shade
Of tearing
Out
Our trees.
    Sometimes
I paint
My house
Orange & apricot
Butterscotch & plum—
Sometimes
I speak up
To save
The trees.
    The days
I like best
Have
Meditation
Lovemaking
Eating scones
With my lover
In them.
Walks on the beach
Picnics in the
Hammock
That overlooks
The sea.
Hiking in the hills
Leaning on
Our
Walking sticks.
    Writers perfect
The art
Of doing nothing
So beautifully.
    We know
If there is
A butterfly
Anywhere
For miles
Around
It will come
Hover
& maybe
Land
On our head.
    If there is a bird
Even flying aimless
In the next
County
It will not only
Appear
Where we are
But sing.
    If there is
A story
It will
Cough
In the middle
Of our
Lazy
Day
Only once
Maybe more
& announce
Itself.

Grace
    Grace
Gives me a day
Too beautiful
I had thought
To stay indoors
& yet
Washing my dishes
Straightening
My shelves
Finally
Throwing out
The wilted
Onions
Shrunken garlic
Cloves
I discover
I am happy
To be inside
Looking out.
This, I think,
Is wealth.
Just this choosing
Of how
A beautiful day
Is spent.

Loss of Vitality
    Loss of vitality
Is a sign
That
Things have gone
Wrong.
    It is like
Sitting on
A sunny pier
Wondering whether
To swing
Your feet.
    A time of dullness
Deadness
Sodden enthusiasm
When
This exists
At all.
Decay.
    You wonder:
Was I ever “on”
Bright with life
My thoughts
Spinning out
Confident
As
Sunflowers?
Did I wiggle
My ears
& jiggle my toes
From sheer
Delight?
    Is the girl
Grinning fiercely
In the old photo
Really me?
    Loss of vitality
Signals emptiness
But let
Me tell you:
Depletion can be
Just the thing.
    You are using
Have used
Up
The old life
The old way.
    Now will rush in
The energetic,
The flexible,
The unmistakable
Knowing
That life
is
life
Not mood.

Until I Was Nearly Fifty
    Until I was
Nearly fifty
I barely thought
    Of age.
    But now
As I approach
Becoming
An elder
I find I want
To give all
That I know
To youth.
    Those who sit
Skeptical
With hooded
Eyes
Wondering
If there really
Is
A path ahead
& whether
There really
Are
Elders
Upon it.
Yes. We are there
Just ahead
Of you.
    The path you are on
Is full of bends
Of crooks
Potholes
Distracting noises
& insults
Of all kinds.
The path one is on
Always is.
    But there we are
Just out of view
Looking back
Concerned
For you.
    I see my dearest
Friend
At fifty-one
Her hair
Now
An even
Steel.
She blushes much
& talks
Of passion.
It cannot be
For the bourgeois
Husband
I never
Liked.
    I thought life
With him
Had killed
The wild-haired girl
I knew.
    But no.
There she is.
There she goes.
Blushing.
Eldering.
    I too talk
Stunned
Of love
Passion
Grace of mating
At last
With
My soul’s
Valiant twin.
    Oh youth!
    I find
I do not
Have it in
My