walking

as the days get warmer and warmer,
the terraced hillsides trade in the plush green
cloaks of early spring for a yellowing head of hair..
the rock rose of white and gold add over-easy eggs
in bunches and clumps and their vibrant pink sisters
give an adolescent girly hue to the stone walls..

to my delight, i find myself out walking
from morning til dusk investigating the flight
of hummingbird moths and their eating habitats..
keeping company with o so many goats and their bell song..
staring mindlessly into the clear, hypnotic whoosh of sea to shore..
dishing out handfuls of friskies to disheveled felines...
uncouthly peering into the noses of red poppies..
and not so keen to be sitting at the desk pecking away
at a frivolous lot of jibbery glibberish..

the boats from turkey arrive daily and spew out,
quite kindly, an enthusiastic bundle of tourists..
the summer inhabitants have descended to polish their homes..
this keeps the shops open, the restaurants fired up
and the greek boys looking for..what, exactly?

the spring wind still holds the chill of late winter
playing with the blue and white flags of its homeland..
off again, on again.. my sweater, like some banner waving..
tying and untying my own yellow head of hair..

i am feeling useless,
which most days rests well
in my heart and mind..
on the off day, when i take
that uselessness personally,
i fall into a deep pit of regret
for not being AT work..
offering whatever it is i am useful for..
to any who would take up the cause with me....

i am less than two weeks out
in this villa on the hightop..
the whole island is moving in unison
toward the great rebirth of their orthodox faith..
it seems i am along for the ride..bearing witness, perhaps..
when the great one has risen, i will also pick up
and take the slow boat to athens to be citified
for some days before i head to paris and fly home..

bugs!
i didn’t do my homework on the euro/dollar relationship..
though i know we have unlimited funds,
as i am known to say,
it seems it doesn’t all come at once..
ah! so!
i have roughly enjoyed this sojourn into solitary refinement..
looked myself straight in the eye..
hit the mallet on the mark
and seen how high the red ball rises..
still plenty of water to chop and wood to carry..

the Work is mostly in the arena of human relationships..
( the animal realm is golden)
lacking confidence as i put my best foot forward,
i end up tripping over the toes of those unfamiliar..
tongue-tied and bewildered..sheepish..eep!
wondering if i was spit out too early
into the human realm?
-most probably arriving from the canine quadrant-
half- baked, for the tests of interpersonal camaraderie ~
my souffle is not yet set..

hence, my chipper enthusiasm for walking..
for as kirkegaard advises:
above all do not lose your desire to walk.
everyday i walk myself into a state of well being
and walk away from every illness.
i have walked myself into my best thoughts and
i know of no thought so burdensome
that one cannot walk away from it.
but by sitting still,
and the more one sits still,
the closer one comes to feeling ill...
if one keeps on walking everything will be alright.

i move to keep things whole....