Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (Long Walk. Breathe Deep. Taste the Air.)

~ Live & Learn

patty-maher-the-quiet-storm-photography

Take a long walk.
Breathe deep.
Taste the air.
Keep your eyes open.
Try not to think.
Wet your lips with your tongue.
Tilt your head slightly into the wind.
Separate the sound of a single stone
cracking under your boot.
Feel the difference in weight
between a milkweed seed and a blackbird’s feather.
Stray from the road on your way home
until you are waist high in wet corn.
Approach your house from the back.
Whistle for the dog with the white mark
like a crescent moon on his chest.
Look your children in the eyes when they speak to you,
and raise your eyebrows, and smile when they smile.
Notice your son’s mouth curves up on one side,
and his fingers are long and squared-off at the tips like his father’s.
Search your daughter’s right heel for the star-shaped scar
where they tapped her for blood when she was two days new.
Drop everything when your husband gets that soft, glazed look
and presses his palm into the small of your back.
Think to yourself how like the spreading roots
of a silver maple
are his hands.

– Marcella Remund, How to Practice Poetry

Notes: Poem – The New Poetry. Photography: Patty Maher (The Quiet Storm)

24 thoughts on “Monday Morning Wake-Up Call (Long Walk. Breathe Deep. Taste the Air.)”

  8. “Separate the sound of a single stone cracking under your boot.” In the pre-spring, when there is still snow and ice on the ground, there is a trail behind a local university I like to walk. When crossing the wooden bridge, I listen to the snow bubbles break under my feet. That’s what I call them. This poem brings out great memories.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  9. Oh, this is exactly what I’ve needed to say:
    “C’mon… you’ve worked enough for today… You won’t ever get finished anyway..
    But, for today, it’s enough.”
    Thanks a lot for that, David.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply