Time is flying on the dark side of the mountains. Wars have been won and lost, lives have began and ended and I sit in a timeless void where the library is only open 3 days a week and the only hugs I receive are from trees. So return the hug I'm sending the void and you and post me a comment because I miss you.

Home (sick)

Tonight this poem is for the stars
unsheathing themselves from hazy
ten o’clock milk of magnesia sky
and laying, back down, spread-eagle,
cradling head in woven finger
baskets. It is for smoke clinging
to breezes and thoughts that slide
under stringy witch's hair draping
on branch-like old-growth cedar
tongues that lick up stringent clouds
like pillowy marshmallows.

This poem dreams of rolling rapids
and horizontal roller-coaster rivers
that twist through rocks
and toss rafts, paddles and water
into velvet constellations.

This is a poem about bedding down
like a young fawn to watch ancient
Mesopotamian and Greek myths play
across the sky like the Illustrated Man's
tattoos. I can tee Taurus guarding
the Pleiades from great hunter Orion
and the rafts, paddles and water
and the scorching hot veldt ranged
by lions' prides, but I don't see you.

This poem remembers nature, drifting
night skies, weekends on the water,
icy dips in frigid alpine lakes
and pelting hard rain on tent flies,
but the ink curves around you
like sun blinks through forest canopies.

This poem wanted to immortalize
the stars and nature's charisma
but it has left that to more focused
poets with finesse and skill.

Today, you can have this poem
and lounge in flowery prose
and tear apart similes and gauzy
metaphors that guard thoughts of you.

Today, you can have this poem's
hollow images and feeble attempts
to evade you. But tomorrow, its words
and stanzas will melt into the Skykomish
and ebb into the Sound.

I am about to kiss Seattle and the Jefferson House goodbye for the summer. Saralita pulled out earlier today and Rena will be following my footsteps out the door tomorrow. Our quartet was quite a reckoning force and I am sad to see the end of this era, the age of estrogen, as I like to say. I think what I told Saralita when she left this afternoon about sums it up, "we can't all be cowboys, some of us are clowns."

I would love to be pen pals with anyone who cares to hand write a letter. My address is PO Box 305
74920 NE Stevens Pass Highway
Skykomish WA 98288

4 months in passing:Employment with Mad Market
Habitat for Humanity Church Build with Saralita
Bike trip to Arboretum with Saralita and Chris
obtain Washington State ID
Visit Patricks in Port Orchard and watch Cabaret
St. Patrick's Day celebrations complete with green cookies
Hike Mount Si
Making bread with Sarita
Biking on Whidbey Island with Sarita
Backpacking to Baker Lake with Sarita
Tiger Mountain and the Issaquah Alps
Vegetarian Fest
Dinner Parties with Turkey, Kaluah Cakes, sushi etc.
Visits from Taylor
picnicking
Full Moon Dancing with Chris, Aaron and saralita
Exploding the Volcano with Chris, Rena, Sarita and Saralita
Easter egg hunt with Katy
JCS with Chris
Late night abs with Sarita and company
Bloomsday
Early morning running with Sarita
Pinochle with Chris, Hillary, Saralita and Aaron
Mr Spot's Chai House with Katy
Rock Climbing with Saralita and Aaron
Acting Class
Co-Rec soccer
Jason Webley Concert with Saralita, Chris and Craig
Ender's Game
35 mile bike rides
Poetry Slams
Banana Bread
Crepe pot lucks
Backpacking with Saralita
Parking tickets
Late night chats
Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Plays at SPU
Urinetown with Katy, Taylor and Ryan
One Flew Over the Cockoo's Nest with Saralita
Shopping for 30 days worth of food
Visit Moscow and Missoula-see previous posts
Hauling rocks up the stairs
Momma and baby bird play acting
Endless laughing fits
Dancing in the rain
Dance parties

In a sad but exciting way, another page of my life is being turned. I am drawing my Missoulahome road trip to a close and will soon be diving into the life of a seasoned, calloused trail crew intern. I think I will be grossly out of shape but the callouses I have. Moscow and home have been a whirlwind of fun. My new appendage, Chris, has been wonderfully easy going and doesn't mind being dragged along to meet my entire family and enterage of friends. He is now in the category with only my mom, dad and Saralita. These are the people who have spent a week or more in solitary confinement with me and survived. Hats off to all! The latest highlights of this trip:

Tons and tons of hugs from family and friends.
Missoula rush hour traffic.
Lunching at the Good Food Store and chatting with former coworkers and customers.
Playing with my dogs and cats.
Riding a mule backwards for at least an hour.
Climbing trees while the wind blows extra hard.
Holding my sister's hand, reading Where the Wild Things Are and tickling.
Shish Kabobs and Bahama mamma's.
Hot tubing by myself at night while Purple Haze plays on the radio.
Early morning chai with Whitney, Jo, mom and Chris at Break.
Thai Spicy with Grandparents and not passing out from an air bubble causing intense chest pain.
Thrift store and second hand book store shopping.
The third Harry Potter movie with Whitney, mom and Jaala!
Making mom her hummus, it's a ritual.
Letting Colleen teach me how to make garlic bread and cook pasta.
Looking at old pictures.
Teen Girl Squad!
Finding the Beattle's Let it Be record.
Waking up at 6:30am to take my car for a tune up.
Having Tipu's chai at Bernice's with Dad.
Meeting friends for Out To Lunch at Caras Park
Tipu's Curry!
Running into tons and tons of old acquaintances.
Watching the boys and their foot sack.
Riding Midnight Rose on the carousel, paying 1.50, grabbing and dropping the brass ring but still winning a free token.
Record hunting at Ear Candy and Rockin' Rudy's.
Finding out my car has serious problems, like the axel is wobbling, and that it won't be ready in time for a Glacier trip.
Hail!
Meeting my Aunt at a bar, playing darts and pool, swing dancing, pouring water down mom's pants.
Getting the Break Expresso chai recipe from Eli in the form of a bag full of the spices
Participating but mostly watching an acoustic music gathering at Quarter Moon Books with more friends.
Doin' it in the road.
Liquid Planet and Bubble up.
Hook.
Sleeping in my old bed!

Not much time to chat but the long of the short of it is: I love road tripping, Moscow, my parents, Missoula, Chai, garage sales, small towns, rain, hot springs, cold rivers, Bahama Momma's and pinochle. More to come while in Missoula. Hopefully, a hike up the M, Tipu's Tiger, Finnigan's, Costco, horseback riding, Break Expresso, Bernice's, hot tubing, playing with my cats, time with family and a big salad bar!

Maybe BLOG is not best place to do this but must vent somewhere.
Have not slept like should in v. long time. Frustrating at the least. Get very cranky, jealous, contemptuous, pent up, unhappy when am sleepy or kept awake. Hasn't been problem for v. long time. Ex-rommie was last real protagonist. New reasons seem to outcrop:
1. Raucous laughter coming from kitchen, living room, outside at all hours of night
2. General bedtime of house around 1 or 2 am.
3. Bladder needing to be emptied during witching hour
4. Unexplainably waking up during witching hour
5. Friends visiting and sleeping over
6. Not even trying to sleep in first place
7. General inability to nap or sleep in past 9:30 am
8. EBay items that close during night

Am leaving for Moscow and Montana soon and will be rid of items 1, 2, 5, 8. Not sure will be able to sleep before 1 or 2 am but option will be there. Looking forward to sunrise maybe. Who am I kidding? Watching sunrise right now and slept like crap last night.