Time Passing Under the Siamese, Silly-Leaf Tree*

By my part of the stream in a corner of the park, the new summer breeze draws its silk cape over my bare arms.
Who knows what may come or go?
But may God receive praise for it all.
For this moment: the grass bits on this paper, the sap from that old tree: knowing that life probably goes on.
For the last moment: when I saw the soft heart of someone for whom I'd given up hope.
And for the next moment: when life will continue or end at Your pleasure.
Be praised, Great God.

Ant biting my ankle.
Two mallards swimming by.
A groundhog, honestly, nibbling at leaves above its head, exposing its soft belly.
A branch creaking in the wind, like a strange bird or a rusty door,
and, naturally, two heavy-footed humans scare the groundhog away, and the breeze stops,
as does the rusty door-branch. The mallards are past now.
The stream is still flowing, at least.

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*I believe we've talked about how I don't know the names of things in nature. This is a tree whose trunk splits very low, creating two, and whose leaves look like mittens and high-five hands.

A Sparse Month

So much for blogging in the month of May.

Readers, I did write a poem that I'm proud of. But I like it because it's true and close to my heart. So close, in fact, that I cannot yet share it here. So please accept this placeholder until the day when I am far enough removed from this moment to fill the empty space below with the only thing I will then be able to offer you: a vintage rendition of feelings long past.

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Lesson #33: Don't Pretend to Know What You're Talking About

This blog contains many life lessons. I estimate that we're about to lesson 33. Either Twain or Lincoln said it well, "Better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." Merely for the sake of illustration, I present to you a real-life story.

When I was student teaching, there were a few days when my mentor teacher was out for illness. As per the law, a substitute teacher came into the classroom for the whole day. But I was de facto teacher for the day. That was fun and all, but I wanna talk about the one substitute teacher. He was studying to become an acupuncturist. Ladies and gentlemen, even now I have no idea how acupuncture works. And for the purposes of this lesson, all you need to know is that when, we'll say, Kevin, explained it to me, he used the term "meridians," in a non-condescending, non-threatening way: "So, I'm not sure if you've heard of these, but acupuncturists believe the body has many meridians..."

In as sophisticated a manner as possible, I responded that yes, I had in fact heard of meridians, and in an unlikely place: Star Wars Episode I, ain't it just the darn'dest?

Midichlorians. No, Carolyn. No.