I have walked, though these past few weeks, past women whose pant cuffs were tannin-stained, past men who had lost all sense of in and out, of back and forth.
The path out is thataways, sayeth I, my pointing finger unflinching. Yea, though it is muddy, sayeth I (and I do see your pants), I will still walk these paths.
And then my brethren the frogs start their big cheeked chorus from the puddles, wailin' and chirpin' and the woodpecker starts in and then we walk - oh lordy do we walk!
And I will testify to the loose-tongued leaping dogs that are not on leashes and to the well-trained dogs that are still on leashes! I will testify to the joggers readying themselves for the marathon on the boulevard and to the high school boys just needing to burn something in the back woods!
I will testify to the train moaning at the edge of the park! To the particular shade of green the puddles near the entrance have gone!
Also, to these particular mushrooms! Hallelujah!
7 comments:
Ariel, your walks and your photos inspire me. Right now I'm sick with flu (since Saturday, actually. Still sad I missed your reading), but am itching to get out and enjoy this lovely season. How long of a walk it it through the forest? The entrance off Corydon is quite near to where I live. Can't believe I haven't tried it yet. Busy, busy, busy...for another week and a half, anyhow. Hopefully I will have more time when I am unemployed and back to writing full time.
Awesome, A!
Ah, mushrooms. I wondered what was behind that.
;^D
Hey Anita...sorry to hear you haven't been feeling well.
Assiniboine Forest is actually home to many different routes/paths, to the extent that if I have time, I try to get lost. But if you do happen to misplace your whereabouts, you can always walk a little further and you hit an identifiable thoroughfare.
(FYI, the main entrance to the Forest is actually off Grant - there's a strange intermediary forest between Ass Park and Ass Forest [next to the Tuxedo Golf Course], but for a pure experience of the Forest, I'd use the entrance off Grant...)
Thanks, B!
I too wonder why my favorite subjects, photographically, are either are dead, sessile, or just extremely lazy...
mushrooms are an interesting thing as far as avant-garde poetry is concerned. john cage and jay millar in particular have done some work with poetry and mushrooms (not the drug ones, just the kind you find in a forest). millar's book mycological studies is worth checking out if you want something strange to stir around your brain while walking in the woods. i just did an interview with him about it that should be in the next issue of filling station if you're interested, you could pick up the issue or i could send it to you.
Hey Jonathan,
Glad to hear from you/see that you've dug yourself out from beneath some of the summer's deadlines...
Send me the interview, if you don't mind...I'm not getting out very much these days.
you'll have to wait for it (i'm away from my home and my files for a few more weeks) but i'll send it to you eventually.
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