Always alongside never behind
Occasionally in front; he walked with a mule
A dusty old man, pack on back, for the mule was free from such enforced chores
Grey of beard, hair in ears, leathered tanned skin, barefoot, cracked nails. Single tears flowing from wind dried eyes
The mule wanted to rest awhile. Up at around 600 metres he guessed, a view over the plains onto the sea. He’d also rest awhile, see what came to mind. It was his favourite time of day- the without and within mixing it up. Sometimes nothing came, sometimes ordered thoughts, feelings, sensations made sense of a moment. Other times it was a kind of random jumble. All he had to do was notice, let it be.
Woke up this morning
Got them locked in blues
Said a dusty old man with no shoes
Here comes something
I can see the trees for the breeze
The sky from on high,
mountains to climb as fantails fly
Paths with no footprint
Rocks with no blood
Her intentions are clear
Not misunderstood
Locked out, locked down, locked in
As Tim Leary might have said
Yea I woke up this morning
Got them locked in blues
My goodness
Burnished bumblebee with burnt orange pollen struggles against a soft soap sanity breeze imploring the earth to turn
Down on the plains in clear view humans emerge to throw away their threedom on fast food queues
Short trip lives on a long drop landscape
and its
One two three
Look and see
one two three
Bend your knee
One two three
Slide to the side
One two three
As the tramper glides by
It’s the dance of the plague walkers
Gotta find a way to cure them
Gonna put on my tramping shoes
That’s harder than you think right now
He was wearing no shoes at this time because the mule had bitten the hand that helped feed it, now he couldn’t tie a loop for his laces. He’d forgotten how important a thumb was
Time feels like a cut finger
It’s functions unheeded until damaged
It ain’t no universal construct
Ebbing, flowing managed
Not by office building or appointment
Just acceptance, engagement
A world outside not within
Here it comes again, a blessing, for he’d no idea what that was all about
One two three
Look and see
And one two three
Bend your knee
One two three
Slide to the side
One two three
the tramper glides by
It’s the dance of the plague walkers
I can feel the earth trembling
Pushing up towards the sky
Can you feel the earth trembling
Pushing up towards the sky?
Gonna plant my feet upon her
Gonna ride that natural high
He looked up and saw grey sea shell clouds sucking up the white stuff. The temperature began to cool, likewise the mule. The way ahead looked stony and rough. The mule anticipated, snorted, setting off alone.
A dusty barefoot old man soon followed.