This morning, like many mornings in mid June,
Begins with the relaxing moments of alone.
Alone, the time and space of zero proximity,
The reminder of Herman Hesse’s “Alein,”
The streets empty, the ways abandoned,
Yet the travels good, peaceful–it’s not a lonely
aloneness, but rather the peaceful, quiet
of the river and surrounding trees
with their flitting leaves bathed by early morning sun,
its rays making the body stretch and
inhale the good air of this coastal valley,
and then,
The realization that any work done today
is done by choice not obligation
That writing a poem to greet the day
Is as good as sleeping or doing the laundry
And when the rest of the family wakes
The day will bustle with summer travel
preparations or children and grandchildren
and the whole day will end back here, alone
in peace with the words.
Word Play 