This is the first July that I am 76.
The weather goes from cool to hot, then back again. I stay in when it rains.
Mornings are my favourite time, until I turn on the news. Bedtime is my next favourite, when I finally get to lie back down.
Sometimes I go a whole day without saying a word out loud. When the phone rings, I wonder if my voice will still know how to work.
I carry treats in my pockets for dogs. Some of them drag their owners to me when they see me coming. Some of them don't want to walk on, after. One even sat down and refused. I have been yelped at by dogs who know me from passing cars. Better than being whistled at when I was young. Dogs make me happy.
What do I say about the state of the world? Humanity has lost its way. I can only pray we find it again,
but suspect we will only do so when forced by dire consequences.
The beauty of the wild world, and the way every being goes about living gives me hope. My heart is full of wild creatures, old growth forests and the beach. The song of the earth lulls me to sleep.
The past moves across my mind like a movie screen. I writhe at how unawakened I was for so long a time.
Now I know too much for my mind to be at rest. But my body and spirit move through peaceful days; my heart has what it needs for happiness. Especially if I add a dog!
I laughed about the walking around with dog treats in your pocket and that the dogs know you! You really have a sense of optimism about you, despite it all. The last stanza made me smile. Hope there is a dog on the horizon. Hope the beauty of the natural world helps compensate for all the negatives!
ReplyDeleteI can go a few days without talking out loud too...animals communicate without words and I seldom need to call them. Someone's usually watching the office window. When I stand up and move away from the computer, a signal is given and everybody who expects food converges on the porch.
ReplyDeleteNevertheless, the animals continue to furnish material for cornball "animal interview" posts. "How to Train the Humans to Bring You Water"! The cats' "celebrity endorsement" now brings us cases of bottled water, delivered to the gate.
There is a dog staying at the neighbouring floathouse! She is adorbs.
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