Rescue

When I want to turn down
the volume of daily life,

or slow the burn of aggravation,
or avoid the drift to lack of focus,

I walk the trail along Padden Creek.
In a moment my day turns.

Padden Creek offers crows’ caws,
solace, birdcalls sweeter

than chimes, birds’ flight, awe.
Padden Creek is a refuge,

a kind of oasis of natural noise
and quiet, a green strip of peace.

There is life and death here
in every season: the season

of dogwood blossoms, the season
of drifting cottonwood seeds,

the season of falling leaves,
the season of cold, ice and snow.

I watch for signals, watch
for glimpses of other lives.

Another year passes; whether
low or high in its golden arc,

the sun will return. I watch for life
and death here, and surrender —

there is nothing to fear.
Padden Creek rescues me.

~*~

Andrew Shattuck McBride
NaPoWriMo 2014 ~ Day 23

I thought I’d return to an old prompt for this poem, and came up with the idea of using the prompt words from the 2013 Kumquat Challenge sponsored by Whatcom Community College.

The words are: moment, volume, cotton, burn, offer, signal, flight, drift, chimes, and kind.

Basically, we are to use all ten words in an original poem. Read about the Kumquat Challenge here.

Here’s my poem again, with words in the above list italicized:

Rescue

When I want to turn down
the volume of daily life,

or slow the burn of aggravation,
or avoid the drift to lack of focus,

I walk the trail along Padden Creek.
In a moment my day turns.

Padden Creek offers crows’ caws,
solace, birdcalls sweeter

than chimes, birds’ flight, awe.
Padden Creek is a refuge,

a kind of oasis of natural noise
and quiet, a green strip of peace.

There is life and death here
in every season: the season

of dogwood blossoms, the season
of drifting cottonwood seeds,

the season of falling leaves,
the season of cold, ice and snow.

I watch for signals, watch
for glimpses of other lives.

Another year passes; whether
low or high in its golden arc,

the sun will return. I watch for life
and death here, and surrender —

there is nothing to fear.
Padden Creek rescues me.

~*~

Are you writing poems? Are you writing, even if only for yourself? Are you walking? Where?

What’s your work? Get your work done.

With warm regards, Andy