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Posts Tagged ‘traffic’

The World Made Possible 

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on August 30, 2026| 5 Comments »


 
You would think only my ears went for a walk,
because all I could focus on this morning was 
the constant putter and drone and rumble and whine
of the steady stream of cars on the highway below.
My ears were bothered. Mightily so. Bothered
enough they drowned out the woodsy scent 
of spruce and the dry earth perfume of late summer
so I could focus on a backfiring engine.
Bothered enough I had to force myself to notice
how soft the trail was underfoot, how easy it felt
to stroll on the flat surface. Had to force myself
to see how some leaves in the understory were 
already turning red, how beautiful they were, 
how good the warm sun felt on the bare skin
of my arms, how a crisp breeze made
my arms rise as if in praise to receive a brief
and welcome chill. Surrounded by so much
beauty, it’s a wonder I could be fussy at all, 
but wow, was I fussy as those cars roared by 
and I dreamed of a different, better trail where
I wanted to be right then, some other trail where
I heard only birds or wind or blessed nothing.
Hours later, sitting on the couch, it’s obvious 
what I heard loudest was not traffic, but my own
fussy thoughts as I longed the world to be different
than it was. By some grace, a sweet self-compassion 
floods me, quiets me, stills and softens me, 
helps me befriend myself just as I am, a human 
who is sometimes fussy, sometimes compassionate.
For a grounded moment, I am so content I think 
a whole highway could thunder right through me, 
and I might just be okay. 
 

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Life Lessons in an Uber in Atlanta

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on November 15, 2025| 11 Comments »


 
 
At every opportunity
the man from Pakistan
brakes his own car and
waves his hand
to let the other drivers in.
One driver waves back.
Another offers an okay sign.
Another smiles and nods.
In this way, we go on.
His car is scented of oud,
sandalwood, musk and rose
as he carries humans
from one place to another.
He stops to let in the Jeep
on the right. The driver
joins us to move for a time
in the same direction.
In this way, we go on.

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Emily Dickinson in Houston

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on June 1, 2021| 1 Comment »

And as I merge onto the interstate
with its ten lanes of traffic and
semis and tolls, Emily sits primly
in the back seat and doesn’t
say a word. She was a bit reticent
to come along—we’re a long way
from Amherst, after all—but
she admitted she was tired
of the New England weather
and longed for something new.
As it is, it’s raining in Houston,
and the puddles on the pavement                                                                  
splash up onto the windshield
and I grip the wheel more tightly,
sensing Emily’s rising panic.
All around us cars weave
and unweave, changing lanes,
charging the world with an unbraiding
rush. Then she says in a voice so quiet
I can barely hear it beneath
the hum of passing cars,
I loved someone once. It felt
something like this. Beside us,
a siren wails. Yes, she says,
fisting the white skirts of her dress,
Yes, it was exactly like this.

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Didn’t Even Bother to Turn Off the Ignition

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on January 30, 2015| 5 Comments »

While I sit fully stopped
at the white line
my thoughts rev and race
around the next four corners

and before my foot
even pressures the accelerator,
those thoughts are already walking
with a little lilt and a whistle
right through your front door.

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Driving to Denver on I-70 Haiku

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on September 6, 2012| 2 Comments »

no wrong turns today
so many possibilities
I never knew

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