TOO LATE

Up here on the bank, I’m caught

as a dry leaf scuttles into the water

to sail a little while in the wind;

my reverie jostled by noisy people

around the bend. They look

like so much litter scattered

on the banks of the river. Their

cackles break on the rocks.

The Hemlocks drip into the air

as thick breezes pillow their way

through the forest while I wander.

A perfect Poplar sapling sacrifices

itself to my knife. I drop strips of

its bark, and I will keep this stick,

a memento of that time I escaped into

a mirror of who I am, when everything

smiled at the quantum entanglement

of itself and me.

A niggle nudges me to pause, the sight

of wavy dapples, the breath of Maple

and Pine, like syrup. I plant the end

of my staff on a rock, close my eyes

and lean into the things that made me;

The Book of John, Jules Verne,

Graham Greene, D. H. Lawrence,

Tolkien, even Bukowski. It is as

though my guts were painted by

some cross between Renoir, Dali,

Picasso and O'Keeffe, so I fit in.

My perceptions match my dreams,

my expectations lie in pieces on the

shoulders of the road to here.

There is a mirror on the water

where this ledge dips its toes into

the pool and the sky floats on

passing clouds. A woman with

ginger feet slides headfirst into

the looking glass with barely a ripple

and my smile turns to a grin I’ll

carry with me all the way to

Buzzard’s Roost, with a cold IPA and a

long vista into the smoky distance.

Reviews

[Lorry]

No matter how beautiful and peaceful the setting, you can be guaren-fekn-teed that others will bring along their noise and pass all over your chips with it.
I remember gazing at the group of identical us' in the reflection of a pool when I was barely arse high to the me I am now and just imagining the way only kids can imagine, that if I caught the reflection just right, I'd be able to peel it back and free our doppelgangers from their aquatic prison.
I really wanted to ask them where their gills where, because they looked so much like us, but I think I got distracted by a group of older kids, who were like two years older than me, but acted like they were the font of all knowledge. I'm actually surprised they weren't smoking pipes!
But anyway, it doesn't take much noise to distract you from your reverie of thoughts.... and it would still be a good ten years before I could have joined you in that pale ale! Pfft! 😃

[Vol]

In Texas, if you want somebody to go away, just offer them a 65 degree IPA...I live with what happened to the Philistines...

[Vol]

Lorry, I have no idea what I was trying to say, Texans, as I have mentioned before drink watery piss for beer, Ice cold to shock their tastebuds into unconsciousness. If I ever get over there, you'll have to introduce me to those good Scottish Brews, might just convince me to never go home...

[Lorry]

No, they'll make you forget to go home!
😃

[Vol]

hahaha... My favorite kind of amnesia...

[carl]

beautiful piece of work - so many nice images to express inward journeys that "lean into the things that made me." what a great line -

My perceptions match my dreams,
my expectations lie in pieces on the
shoulders of the road to here.

really great lines expressing your journey "on the road to find out" - Cat Stevens

[Vol]

Carl,
Thank you... I think I would have made a great 19th century hermit in some British forest, sponsored by the local lord and an attraction for his courtly visitors...
Vol

[carl]

your response makes me think of a book I'm currently reading - not a hermit perhaps a wizard tutor - ( The Sword and the Stone - t h white ) the sponsor idea sounds nice but I just watched a documentary on Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo and they didn't always have a lot of artistic freedom. take care and be well -carl

[Vol]

My students used to cll me the Wiz because I could make stuff disappear... my chalk, my pen, my glasses, one moment they'd be in my hand and the next nowhere to be found...

[Perry]

Nice! This poem makes me think of Carlos Castaneda.

[Vol]

Perry,
I've only read a little of Castaneda, and from what I remember, I can see that... Finding a bit of Zen alone in the woods is about as close to finding a spiritual connection with life itself as a person can get... From what I've read about quantum physics, I think it may be loosly referd to as "entanglement," but in a spiritual way... Almost transendentalism... You've given me payse and so I'm writing out loud to figure it out. I wonder if it was Costaneda who said "You matter... unless you multiply yourself by the speed of light squared, then you energy."
Vol

[Poetic Beauty]

I enjoyed the thoughts in the last two stanzas and the description of the nature around you is breathtaking

[Vol]

PB,
Thank you! Sometimes I think I
love the woods too much, and have written
enough...
Vol

[Poetic Beauty]

I love nature and the adventure you can have within those trees that hide our presence

[Vol]

We pass through them, lean against their trunks, wonder at their presence, and once we are gone, id we are good, they never even knew we were there...

[Poetic Beauty]

Trees may have memories…..

[John the Baptist]

A stream of consciousness type offering here. The speaker moves from a contemplation of nature to a recollection of literary and artistic influences. The last verse shifts back to a rumination on the river that was mentioned at the outset. A woman with ginger feet appears. I knew a chick would have to figure in somewhere.

[Vol]

John,
Thank you for such a fine review... and it appears you know me too well...
Vol

[Betty Hermelee]

Dear Vol
It's so annoying when you try to find some peace and quiet, then people start buzzing around you with their chatter....though I love your musings..they are so philosophical!!! I love the woman who fell into the mirror pool...which you seem to enjoy, and you take that smile to the nearest pub and have a beer ( the kind my hubby likes!) Love this!
PS Sorry I didn't write the prompt on pets, but it's been too long without one....
Warmly, B

[Vol]

Aw, Betty,
No worries, hardly anyone wrote about pets. When I run out of ideas and the muse falls asleep, a good prompt always helps, no requirements or expectations here... Most of my musings about the value of nature come from the years I was able to visit Fall Creek Falls State Park in Tennessee. Whether camping for a week or just a day trip. If you ever get the opportunity to visit there, you should... Waterfalls, deep canyons, thick forest, A lodge, a lake, cabins, every camping space has water and electricity. I only made the mistake of visiting a couple of times on Holidays, when the mass of noisy people dressed like candy wrappers littered the vistas...
Vol

[Betty Hermelee]

Dear Vol
I live in western NC...have yet to seen this park....thanks for sharing, and of course, a pleasure to read your writing!!
Warmly, B

[Vol]

Betty,
there are two parks in the same general area around Crossville, Tn. Fall Creek Falls, the crown jewel of Tennessee parks is South from there on US 127 and back up the mountain from Pikeville. The other park is North on 127 to Jamestown and out from there, it is Pickett State Park, known for its numerous natural stone arches. Both are incredibly well-kept secrets. If you visit there, you will see why people in Tennessee don't visit The Smokies the way other people do... these are a far better choice for getting back to nature. https://www.americasstateparks.org/tennessee-state-parks/

[Betty Hermelee]

Thanks for all that info! Some if our kids live in Memphis and we used to drive there but now we’re old and they come to us… the Smokies is the most popular park in the U.S.!!!🌷🌷🌷🌷

[Camasee (Cam)]

Vol! I could see all this just like watching a movie! You have a great narrator's voice! The people coming round the bend, I can feel your disappointment as their intrusion breaks your quiet heaven. "Their cackles break on the rocks"! So picture perfect! I don't know much about the difference in trees but of course you do! You lean into the things that made you CLEARLY made you. "Expectations lie in pieces on the shoulders of the road to" there. The final stanza I'm a little bit jealous so I won't comment much more. Just beautiful, Vol. I could cry. Just beautiful. You are amazing. I'm so glad I stopped by.

[Vol]

Cam,
Stop by any time you like, It is always a pleasure and a joy.
Please forgive my first reaction to your wonderful review. You are a natural, an eloquent writer! You are in North Carolina? East or West. Ashville, Black Mountain, and what used to be Chimney Rock are some of my favorite places. My folks lived and owned an art gallery in Newbern in the east and I have beautiful memories of Morehead city where Lisa's sister lives, as well as Atlantic Beach. I cannot express how much I miss trees, creeks, and crowds of songbirds. Sometimes I wonder if those places made me, or I built myself from the elements out there.
Vol

[Camasee (Cam)]

Vol, you are so sweet! I travel frequently to college in Boone and as far east as the coast. Atlantic Beach is a fav. I think there's been some flooding but the restaurants are great for the fresh seafood! Aphrodisiacs in seafood, love, (smile & wink)

[Vol]

Cam,
Ha! About ten years ago, as the result of a tick bite, I became allergic to meat, any meat from an animal with a hoof. I was not bothered, I'd eaten plenty of it in my life. But I grew up on the water in Florida, and never put anything from the sea in my mouth I did not LOVE. If I were allergic to seafood, I think I'd wonder what was left worth living for... Well, Maybe one thing... ;-}
Vol

[Camasee (Cam)]

Oh Vol, that's horrible! Tick bites negative symptoms can last a LONG time! Yes, seafood is mainstay... You sexy thang!

[Pryde Foltz]

This is so enjoying to read. Such imagery:)

[Vol]

Pryde,
Thank you for stopping by to say so. Most of my life I lived where trees ruled. Now I live in a desert where there are none... this is my lament....
Vol

[Pryde Foltz]

Not even cactus for shade?

[Vol]

Pryde,
You've seen those giant wind turbines? Here they cast long skinny shadows and people have been known to play jump rope with the blade shadows... but in the summer when its over a hundred, the sheep will gather un the long shade, and never have to move...I worry about them under all that wool...
Vol

[Pryde Foltz]

Haha ... jousting with windmills in full fur coat ... not recommended:)

[nj coleman]

Isn't Graham Greene great?
Love his work and yours