Monday, March 19, 2012

Vernal Equinox Serependity


Daylight Savings Time Haiku:

Promise of long light
creeps in and jumpstarts spring
Whiteness comes as snow!


Equal Light and Equal Dark - day and night - balance
circles - earth - round - spheres
wind storm
pink dust settles on my Sandias
only yesterday there was uplift, cleansing, dust storm, renewal

Last week I spent some time at my favorite picnic spot near the Rio Grande with my journal. I mostly remember soaking up the quiet, the silence. What will future people remember? The only thing that spoke to me in those moments was the wind.


Serependity: Look for something, find something else and realize that what you have found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for. (Lawrence Block)


Myths:
the 7 cities of gold
rocks have no consciousness
humans are more important than animals, or birds, or trees
when I jump I will keep on falling


Last year, on the eve of the Vernal Equinox (March 19th) I was performing my farewell poetry gig at the Black Forest Inn in Minneapolis, saying goodbye to friends I knew I'd see again sometime but not know how when. The next day I set out on the road with a friend in my car to start my two-day drive to Albuquerque. It was foggy and rainy. Those posts are chronicled in earlier blog posts, feel free to review them if you haven't seen them before. I didn't know what I would find here, but I know I would continue to search for home. Whatever home means. I knew I would find the high desert I fell in love with on previous visits. I knew a couple of poets, but not intimately. I had no idea of the poetry scene here and how much I would be a part of it and adore all my new friends. I couldn't have planned it this way, I had to let go. I knew if I jumped I would land somewhere.

How would I know I'd find homes for so many poems? How would I know that I'd find a publisher (and good friend) for "Appetites"? How would I know that I'd meet so many friends? How would I know that I'd have a long-distance romantic relationship? How would I know I'd create a studio playhouse for poetry? How would I know a new kitty would find me? How would I know I'd get so much joy from the sky?

Vision - vistas - let it all go and let the wind carry me
feel the open space
feel the love of others
feel the words take me home

I've become busy and entrenched here, just as I was in my "old" life. But one carries on into the next, the turning of the wheel, the change of seasons and one life is not older or newer, just different.

I've done a lot of traveling, more than I thought I would: Minneapolis, New York, Hartford, Chicago... Santa Fe, Las Vegas, Socorro, Magdalena, Corrales, Placitas (and less than I wanted to within my state - the weekends slip by quickly) It's almost been like a sabatical, if I can call it that while still working full-time at my day job. The land and the open space have helped me focus. The mountains are my foundation, the volcanoes my inspiration, the balloons my familiar greeting. It's been a joy to host a few guests of family and friends.



I'll be turning 50 on May 5th - another turning of the wheel, a new decade to explore, but first, the smells of spring...