This morning was something. A little snow
\nlay on the ground. The sun floated in a clear
\nblue sky. The sea was blue, and blue-green,
\nas far as the eye could see.
\nScarcely a ripple. Calm. I dressed and went
\nfor a walk — determined not to return
\nuntil I took in what Nature had to offer.
\nI passed close to some old, bent-over trees.
\nCrossed a field strewn with rocks
\nwhere snow had drifted. Kept going
\nuntil I reached the bluff.
\nWhere I gazed at the sea, and the sky, and
\nthe gulls wheeling over the white beach
\nfar below. All lovely. All bathed in a pure
\ncold light. But, as usual, my thoughts
\nbegan to wander. I had to will
\nmyself to see what I was seeing
\nand nothing else. I had to tell myself this is what
\nmattered, not the other. (And I did see it,
\nfor a minute or two!) For a minute or two
\nit crowded out the usual musings on
\nwhat was right, and what was wrong — duty,
\ntender memories, thoughts of death, how I should treat
\nwith my former wife. All the things
\nI hoped would go away this morning.
\nThe stuff I live with every day. What
\nI’ve trampled on in order to stay alive.
\nBut for a minute or two I did forget
\nmyself and everything else. I know I did.
\nFor when I turned back i didn’t know
\nwhere I was. Until some birds rose up
\nfrom the gnarled trees. And flew
\nin the direction I needed to be going.<\/p>\n
Raymond Carver<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This morning was something. A little snow lay on the ground. The sun floated in a clear blue sky. The sea was blue, and blue-green, as far as the eye could see. Scarcely a ripple. Calm. I dressed and went … Continue reading