Meditation
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Hiking is my meditation
Moving feet
Steady mind
Patterns in footfalls and birdsongs
Pause
Breathe in
Tiny flowers
Breathe out
Expansive Views
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(A Byte Poem)
Tag: hiking
June 20
The View at the Top
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I hike the rain slicked trail, gazing from ground to wood
Afraid to trip on rocks, afraid to miss the good
Torn between what I want to do and what I should
Looking ahead and looking back to where I stood.
*
I don’t do this enough, so I need frequent breaks
To pee behind a tree, to ease my lungs from ache
Slowly I ascend the steep, resting when calves quake
Reaching the summit, I know this was no mistake.
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(An Awit Poem)
June 17
Fate or Free Will
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Blazes will guide
Life’s long strides now
Deciding fate
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(A Thanbauk Poem)
June 15
Waterfall Tableau
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Around each corner
The din gets louder
The air gets cooler
The mist gets thicker
The plants get greener
The rocks get slicker
*
Finally the last bend
Reveals the cascade
Tumbling frothy
Down the time-worn rocks
Into the deep pool
To trickle downstream
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(A Tableau Poem)
June 14
Cascade Trail
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The trail transforms from hard to soft
Looking up the sky is needled
Below my feet a tan carpet
*
Moss covers rocks like a carpet
Ferns make eroded stream bank soft
Pine cones dot a trail that’s needled
*
Shoulders brushed by branches needled
Hiking boots scuff up new carpet
All the green and tan make sounds soft
*
I tread on soft, needled, carpet
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(A Tritina Poem)
June 10
New Find
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She scours the forest for hours looking for flowers
Rains showers won’t dissuade this escapade
In verdant glade she knows something grows
Here she tiptoes carefully between shades of green
*
Looking for something bright in the light that might
Delight, whites abound purples astound
No one’s around to reveal her zeal
She’ll keep seeking, fascination piquing.
*
Field guide in hand, walking the land to understand
Firsthand, to embrace her place
In this space. From ants to plants
It all enchants, but her reflection is on connection
*
Finally she spots unfamiliar flowers that dot woodlot
But cannot put name to same
Without shame she opens the guide, stooping beside
New flower trailside, knowledge expanding with understanding.
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June 9
Positivity is the buzz word
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The mosquito is annoying
And there is no doubt about it
Perhaps we can live without it
With my patience they are toying
*
Masters of camping destruction
The mosquito is annoying
Being out I’m not enjoying
To avoid I need instruction
*
Surprisingly they do some good
Repellent I am deploying
The mosquito is annoying
Helping frogs into adulthood
*
I’ll think twice before destroying
Assisting with pollination
Now I say with hesitation
The mosquito is annoying
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(A Viator Poem)
June 8
What is it like to be hiking along a creek in the Vermont woods late on a June afternoon?
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Fighting
Biting
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(A Terse Verse Poem)
April 9
Rock Garden
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Walking flat gray gravel trail hand in hand
Soft sound of ground crunching under boots
Taking in the sights along the creek and land
Observing from the canopy to roots
Trekking slowly from hilltop to wetlands
Hearing birds and their chirps, caws and toots
Suddenly something grabs my attention
The names of the plants I can’t help but mention.
*
A rock garden rises next to the trail
Distracting, attracting, enchanting me
Maroon, bright green, blue covering gray shale
No flowers yet to attract the bee
Petite young leaves are anything but frail
Colors and textures abound early
On this cool gray day these are welcome sites
Nature’s vertical rock garden delights.
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(An Ottava Rima Poem)
March 23
Making Tracks
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Early morning I go
Into deep snow
Traversing woods aglow
Wondering what is below
Grateful the going is slow
Appreciating the show.
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(A Monorhyme Poem)
A Picture and a Poem 