before i left the north country
we were waiting for
or just enduring more
winter.
today, my second day in melbourne
i am wearing shorts and sandals
my legs protesting and very pinky pale
and my mind a bit weird
from jetlag.
leaving ottawa
and the great white north
i traveled
to the big chicago
over lake michigan
and again into the air to the city
las angeles
for a ridiculous nine hour layover
i did find a spot of grass and some trees
(amidst dreadful cacaphony)
and a plane headed to china
this is my first siting some 15 plus hours later
of australia
enveloped in a haze of smoke
from extensive wildfires.
when we landed i could smell it--
and in melbourne there was
the little shop of horrors
or flowers
meanwhile,
back at the ranch
the indigo was beaten
by the strong arms of
naomi
who cares for this stew
of blue
and, incidentally, me, too!
outside beautiful silks
where i'm teaching
are some things i like very much
old texts, and in the sky
today
rain.