12:35pm
October Tenth, Outside on the Patio
The wind swirls
some
fallen leaves and
pine straw needles
run and run in
place,
a circular pattern
erratic.
While the calendar
invites fall
Nature is unwilling
to commit.
Sudden gusts prompt
the chimes
the faded black
metal pipes come to life
the melody sweet,
abrupt, comforting.
Morgan sits almost
frozen, still
the posture of a
disciplined sentry
she waits and waits
for the gecko
whose tiny presence
taunts.
This senior Corgi
girl, happy,
fascinated by the hunt.
Maddie pretends to
care.
She sits ballerina
still in my lap
Corgi supervisor of
everyone and everything
Her mission to be
ready
for her afternoon
nap.
The wind decides to
stop.
The 80 plus degrees
gain presence
as the now still
moments continue
to hold back fall.
In the quiet, quiet,
Morgan’s pounce on
the gecko is loud.
Her panting if magnified a thousand times,
Her panting if magnified a thousand times,
the determined
chorus of a small brigade
crossing a wooden bridge on the way to battle.
This gift of
stillness a momentary communion.
The sun, the sky and the reflection of seconds past grow in volume
words, phrases, images,
all traffic my frontal lobe.
I close my eyes: start, stop, rewind, and start again.
Inhale, exhale,
I take notice of the rise and fall of my chest.
It is now symphony quiet.
The oxygen rich words race ahead in my
imagination.
Their destination, this blank page, this poem.
By E. Arosemena
