travel light

that’s my advice to this present self

I can’t heft loads

so well as I might have

once before

yet still on the move

wanting to see or do or know

probably shaky on courage

feigning an adventurer’s gait

travelling light—

it’s not I’ve become obviously weak

or afflicted (to my knowledge anyway)

what is useful versus what might be

shedding feels natural

what must be dragged must also be abandoned

I might be shallow

depth buried too deep for the purple locator

adept at lightning dodgeball

not so much lost

not identifiable as numb

person in waiting

avoidance skilled

ugly horror sidestepped

no action participant

frown frozen militant

near sighted visionary

preferential blurring in sunrise frame

I read poetry rarely

except for the not yet available in translation

I hear the imagery

I see the screams

I watch the vengeance fireworks

I sketch the destruction

I spin the globe from 1970

plan my escape ticket

check my light for longevity

braid my hair

wish for nothing and no one

breath in 4

practice laughter back in my overgrown garden

slip on my boots and go🪶