1.
With the whoosh of the burner firing
I look up and see a hot air balloon
Floating in the air and it looks so odd
Suspended in the sky and there is the
Burst of flame and the rise of the balloon
And the gradual drifting and there are
The other balloons too peopling the
Sky but the people are too far to see —
Only on the cloudless days of summer
Do balloons appear in such festive colors
And I imagine the bouncing ride and
The view of the river on a sunny
Afternoon and there is no purpose for
The ride except for the effervescence.
What does the
valley look like with the sun
sparkling on the river
and reflecting off the windows
of the moving cars?
2.
I didn’t feel the heat of the morning
Until the little black fly with green eyes
Landed on my arm and walked about with
Little legs over the fine hair on my
Arm — and I discovered not wanting to
Expend the energy necessary
To flick it away so I just watched it
Instead and noticed the slightest tickle —
And a little while later a tiny
Black ant proceeded to explore my arm
Too and I noticed the tickle again —
And the ants and the flies have as much right
As I do to enjoy the summer air
But I won’t give the mosquitoes a pass.
As the air becomes
hotter even in the shade
of a tree I start
to feel a little dizzy
and warmer inside and out.
3.
There is a video on Facebook of a
Couple of kids after a down pouring
Of rain who have goggles for swimming and
And a bicycle and some muddy ground
And one of them gets on the bike and grips
The brakes and the other kneels behind the
Back tire and while wearing the goggles with
Much joyful expectation he says “go”
And he is covered by a spattering
Of mud — which is an improvement of the
Jackson Pollack style — because Jackson was
Dripping paint on canvas by himself and
Jackson never did escape depression
But the boys together were jubilant.
Eventually
sophistication
spoils
spontaneity.
4.
This is not the time for cherry blossoms
And the cherry trees already produced
Their cherries for the season — so I do
Not know why I am thinking about the
Cherry blossoms — while we are entering
The mild and lazy ending of summer
Except that the beautiful flowering
Of spring is so beautiful because it
Marks the release from the cold of winter —
And we are on the verge of colder days
And grey clouds moving precipitously
Are dominating the sky and the wind
Is tossing about the leaves and I am
Remembering and anticipating.
The apples on my
apple tree are almost ripe
and this is the first
year I sprayed the apples to
keep the insects away.
