#NewThisDay Writing From My Photo Stream
Woodlands Rock Map
. . . We share the sky, all of us, the whole world:
Together, we are a tribe of eyes that look upward,
Even as we stand on uncertain ground. . .
~ Excerpt from “We Are of a Tribe,” by Alberto Rios
Mallards on the Morning Charles
Without trying, I am awake at 5:30. Wide awake. Are we all awake now? Perhaps. The news is preoccupying, momentous. It’s a new morning and the sun has not risen. But, it does. I get to the river and there is puddle of red sky on the surface. I am happy to be out early enough for these moments of awakening: light, color. I have texted my friend to walk, we meet with our dogly friends in the meadow. There is sunshine today. We have to cover all the political news, grounding ourselves, finding solid. Then, we have writing to talk about and family issues, and we talk about selves, the self, in relationship, Staying true. We walk toward the sunnies part of the Charles river, along it, and there are the quiet Mallards, in the high water of the winter, flushed, perhaps, from their nests. They are swimming so peacefully and Charlie barks but does not frighten them. They seem to be very centered in their selves. This is a very long walk. We part ways, I have walked for over two hours, gratefully. Ready to be in poetry: our workshop. Strangely, we have all managed to bring new poems or revisions despite the disruptions. But we seem tired. Quiet. Unusually, there are long silences before comments. My poem is so fresh it’s pretty much a first draft and it’s too new, I think, to have shared. But I did. And I will improve it. I am leading a free photo-inspired webinar tonight, so I prepare in the afternoon. Take a long nap too, and don’t make any dinner! Until the very last moment: omelettes. Delicious, spontaneous. My webinar is well attended, and, fruitful, I hope. Hopeful, that we all seem to keep writing and taking our writing lives seriously. Like mallards. Who take their lives seriously. Under the same sky, all of us.
Charles River Sunrise