I start my walk to the shops.
Few people along this village road.
A toddler, pushed in a stroller,
spies me going past the other way,
cocks her finger at me and gurgles.
She changes me. I fill with smiles,
waggling my hand back at her,
exchanging grins with her mother.
She changes us all, and
changes our interactions.

I take the upper path, above
trees and river – almost step
on a flattened cane toad
some driver didn’t miss. Think
of the handsome goanna
sprawled across half the road
the other day, his proud head up.
Luckily no traffic there.
I tooted, swerved and missed.
He took off into the bush.

Next day my sleek black hunter
nosed at an open drawer.
I thought he was trying to climb in
(he likes cubby-holes, that cat)
but later he brought out on to the floor
the upturned white-bellied body
of a small lizard, dead.
I wondered then,
does Nature demand
a life lost for a life saved?

I contemplate, too, the woman
who shares her space with wombats.
“They think so differently
about the world,” she says,
finding that charming. “We forget,”
she adds, “That we are animals too.”
I am an event in nature,
like a wombat or goanna.
I am an agent of change,
like introduced cats and toads.

I watch the sky with practiced eyes
Folded knees, folded heart, but an open mind
An accordion without the air that gives it meaning
Limp on the steps to my house, not ready to go inside

The sky is seamless, blank paper
Dropped in a bucket of water
And turned to soggy pulp, useless
Still, I don’t look away, others might
Out of boredom, or lack of faith. Their choice.

As night starts to pull the light away
The clouds coalesce
I can see the gaps now,
It gives the whole picture greater strength
As trouble defines my sight

And there’s more to this sky, than others might think
I know there’s darkness beneath it,
Small lights too, flickering at a distance,
Christmas you know will come eventually,
but not anytime soon enough

I’m getting colder, but there’s more to life
Than easy contentments, so I remain
To see how the sunset, somewhere behind all this,
Shows new shape within this evanescent nascent sky
Poised for purpose, even if it doesn’t quite have it yet

It has happened in the darkness of the day, this change,
When nobody was watching, it seemed
Amid all the bustle of sunlight somewhere
And alarms being set, minds already on tomorrow,
No one is glad for it, and nothing is permanent, but this cloud
Is different

And I know. I know that cloud.
I have been watching inside and out
In this starry, frostburst air
I collect my thoughts about me like a cloak
And ward away the night and find the peace
That hides within it
Glad to have found a mirror in the sky

Beneath the shining stars
We sat
Hoping to find our way

Into the night
We stayed
Gazing upon the winking lights

The diamonds in the sky
Was so bright
I was dazzled by the light

How small we felt
Underneath the beams of lights
Trying but failing to reach starlight

I was lost in the lights
Until I heard
Your whisper by my ears

How wonderful the stars are
When you are here.

With eyes closed and autumn breezes kissing my cheeks
Tendrils of a daydream my mind now seeks
As I walk on leaves that crackle and pop to the beat of my heart
I return to a time of my youth
With eyes closed I breathe in the cool fall air
Fill my lungs with crisp golden sunshine
When it rained leaves today
The wind delightedly came out to play
The tendrils and breeze fill my heart with the love of life
The faint sound of children laughing in the distance is heard
I dreamt of the day when my wish came true
Arms outstretched, laughter echoing in my soul
I dream of my summers past with joy
Golden sunlight reflects through the tree boughs revealing an umbrella of color
Red, gold, orange, brown, golden colors a feast for my hungry eyes
I bask in the joy of the sunrise each day

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.-= Jenny Miller´s last blog ..It Just Gets Better and Better =-.