Moments of Infinite Value

This is what I tell myself now in the midst of the pandemic that everything I know is simpler than I once thought it was. For me, I begin my day with my honey-colored dog, her leaping on our walk, her paws in the air, my walk easy, step by step, the sun on my face, the breeze kissing my forehead, this is how time surrounds us now as we are home most of the time. Each day my dog and I stop under the old fan palm trees here in the desert oasis, the fat palm leaves draping over our heads, lizards running amok to warm up on the rocks, so small as if I dreamt them up to put them in a poem, to give me a sign, when the tiny ones run I think the path is the right one, the path I have learned to grown older on without concern for where I am going, only ahead of me, life tending to the aloe and the calendula, sweet peas covered with white flowers bending and rising to a new day, apace, as I am making plans for lunch as I walk along, walnuts and cheese, and I’m trying to figure out what I know of what I need today, using less, dreaming more, telling the truth, growing smarter, planting what I know will come back and how I may use it best, giant sunflower seeds in my pocket, sweet nasturtium, its petals good to put on my soup, the flowers will grow and live in the moonlight. Nothing can stop us from getting on this way, learning what to give back, teaching ourselves how to do it again, how to sit quiet when we must, breathing in and walking and allowing the earth to heal again. This is how I find my way, the only way I know to live in the world we have now of earth and water, air and fire, with limited resources. I look for what is enough, stick to it, learn more, practice until it is time for another day.

Charlene Langfur