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Summer of '99
On The Meramec Waking
quietly with the dawn, mist in the air,
and the birds in song. A doe and fawn
cross the field, as geese fly bye, honking
say hi! Noisy turkeys dismount from their
lofty roosts, calling their places,
forming their groups. Squirrels bark
and chatter at some unwanted guest, as
blackbirds argue over last nights scraps. A
robin stalks worms in the fresh cut grass and
the peepfrogs are quiet, getting their rest. Some
locusts are screeching, they have no time to waste, while
a bullfrog still bellows, come here-make haste. A
woodpecker taps on a thorny locust tree, digging
up bugs it's collecting for three. There's
a red-tailed hawk circling the pasture, the
bunnies are fast but the hawk can be faster. Then
a flicker sails across the meadow, a
falcon dives and the flicker cries. A
buzzard glides way up high. The bluejays
holler at a crow too close bye. As a
painted turtle sits on a log, the great
blue heron stalks minnow and frog. While
a terrapin meanders across the road,
I stoke up the fire and frighten a toad. A
lizard jumps from the stick in my hand, a
daddy long legs crawls up my arm, a lightening
bug lands on my nose, but none of us
suffer any harm. The coffee smells good
and tastes even better, the
thick morning mist hugs the ground. Then
comes a quick shower, drops tap on the
tent, and after it passes the quiet
laments as the drips make their way through
the leaves. I tune in on a subtle sensation,
then I feel it and hear it with ease.
As I pat my dog’s head and close my eyes
I listen to the woods breathe.
WRK | |