An Ode to Walks on Bartlett Hill

The road rises to meet me

Effortless greeting, timeless gift
To walk on this earth softly,
Sweetly,
Is our birthright
You,
Who have been there on those frostbitten winter evenings
Trudging uphill, soft body crunching against
Crystallized snow
Deepest despair made a bed in your warm open arms,
And rested there
Until it resembled something silken,
Dripping like honey
High as the mountaintop
Sun blazing above me
I know, here, I am wanted
--------------------

I pride myself
On my excellent grasp of solitude;
Often alone,
Never lonely.
---------------

I watched a video last night

An old man in overalls and a plaid flannel shirt
Sat before the camera-
At first glance, he appeared so plain
Someones father, uncle, grandpa
But then his mouth began to speak
Images, tumbled out his mouth
He said goodbye to his mother and father one day
At a train station in Poland
And he did not know that
Goodbye
Was really good bye.

I want to be older with you.

And I, too,
Was given no handbook
 On the relative shelf life
Of our good byes,
I just hope
And make this one really count.