Jan 23, 2015

“…a stroll through a winter forest.” Part of a longer quote from the sculptor, Frederick Remington (1861-1909)

Stark black bark foregrounds against
the flat white of snow as it clings
to branch and bush and each dead leaf

among the greens of spruce and pine,
above faint track of hare and brush wolf,
perhaps last evening’s stray coyote.

 Mornings, early, there will be deer,
a few dark-eyed juncos, but no bear here,
nor moose. Each creature scavenging,

but the frozen ground yields nothing,
so they don’t stay long. Only the birds
find the feeder, too cold now even for squirrels.

CAS Jan 23, 2015

Jan 22 2015

…dressing up is done whether in imminent danger in an oncoming battle or a sickness or injury at times of peace.” – Wooden Leg, Cheyenne Warrior and Tribal Judge 1858-1940

While death is something we seldom joke about, my thoughts are not so dark today, and I was struck by a rather fanciful notion of warding it off. I’ve riffed on the idea of an apple a day helping to keep us healthy.

It occurs to me to wonder:
if I take care never to dress up,
might I substitute pajamas for the apple

that keeps the doctor safely in his place,
not needing to visit me? Would sloppy
unkempt appearance mean long life?

Or should I always greet the day
in my best dress, makeup carefully done
just in case it is time to leave?

CAS Jan. 22, 2015