Open Ends

People of the South Wind (Section 1 and 2)

1
One day Sun found a new canyon.
It hid for miles and ran far away,
then it went under a mountain. Now Sun
goes over but knows it is there. And that
is why Sun shines—it is always looking.
Be like the sun.

2
Your breath has a little shape—
you can see it cold days. Well,
every day it is like that, even in summer.
Well, your breath goes, a whole
army of little shapes. They are living
in the woods now and are your friends.
When you die—well, you go with
your last breath and find the others.
And in open places in the woods
all of you are together and happy.

- William Stafford

*

My 3-day Greyhound adventure with Rebecca turned out to be a slow and moderately enjoyable stretch of time and country. We played cards (I lost horribly) and ate PB & J and watched Freaks and Geeks and, the next thing I knew, we parted ways all the way "back east" in Cleveland, Ohio—farewell eastern Oregon, Salt Lake City, Denver, Omaha, and Chicago! Upon arrival, I ate lots of treats and slept for about 12 hours before beginning the just-as-strenuous adventure of sorting through all of my boxes of books (some of which received some water damage just 2 weeks before my return! poor cookbooks...) and helping my parents to clean and revamp sections of their crumbly house. It's nice to feel useful after so much indulgent time doing my own thing, drifting connectionless 'cross the continent. Plus, in a week or two, I should have earned enough moolah to cover my first month's rent! So (I'm telling myself), things seem to be looking up, or at least horizontal, for the time being. A normal pace and some everyday concerns will be good for me in the weeks and months to come. Living is living—sounds good to me!