By Will Falk
she spent all her money
and a long time
getting to California from Chicago
it was good
she saw a lot of America
on the freeways
crossing the plains
then up over the Rockies
finally arriving in La Jolla
just as the sun set
with nothing else to do
and nowhere else to be
she wandered the beach
looking for loose change
maybe to get a beer
maybe to meet someone
she met me
sitting on a cliff
over the seals at the Children’s Pool
next to a family with a little girl
spreading her tiny hands
to embrace it all in an infant hug
seeing seals for her first time
I told her the Children’s Pool
was closed to humans
to protect the seals’ pups
I said many residents were angry
I said kids used to swim in the Pool
but now they can’t
she laughed and told me
some people have bad memories
when she was in Yellowstone
she saw a small herd of buffalo
running free over the land
and after that she decided
she would rather have
millions of buffalo on the plains
than millions of buffalo
on the backs of nickels
even though that was a lot of money
that she could really use
I didn’t know what to say
so we watched the sunset
listening to the seals
it got cold and I had to leave
as I got up she joked,
“maybe La Jolla residents
want to put seals
on the backs of coins, too
they’d be easier to use”
Source
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Good shit!!!!! Keep it up and don’t forget to look under the stones because they cry out.
Thanks a lot, Jim!
I’ve been learning a lot from stones lately, no doubt. In some places in the desert, they speak so loudly you can hear little else.
Dig deeper my Milwaukee brother because the sands of time grind imperfectly but truthfully. There is a lot going on here just go and look for it another time.
Have you been “learning a lot” because you were “stoned” – or because you are looking under stones. Great meeting you today, Will. Enjoy the imagery of your poem. Judi
I’ve certainly learned a lot being stoned, but never as much as listening to what boulders, stones, rocks, and pebbles have to say.
It was great meeting you, too, Judi! I’ve been making a list of “must-visit” restaurants based on your articles.
I collect rocks & stones. Especially Diamonds !
Lol
This is my favorite poem of yours thus far, and I look forward to reading many more. It was a pleasure meeting you today.
Thank you very much, Annie.
It was wonderful getting to meet you, too. Thank you for giving some direction on what helps editors as we submit pieces. Many of your suggestions never occurred to me – like the importance of titles and embedding links.
How did we go from buffalo nickels to stones? The human mind is fascinating. One of my favorite writers is fellow Pittsburghan Annie Dillard who wrote a book called “Teaching a Stone to Talk.” This passage seems particularly relevant.
“It is difficult to undo our own damage, and to recall to our presence that which we have asked to leave. It is hard to desecrate a grove and change your mind. The very holy mountains are keeping mum. We doused the burning bush and cannot rekindle it; we are lighting matches in vain under every green tree.”
I turned to that passage because these lines resonated with me Will:
she decided
she would rather have
millions of buffalo on the plains
than millions of buffalo
on the backs of nickels
even though that was a lot of money
that she could really use
I love that passage by Annie Dillard, Anna. From my perspective, the destruction of natural communities is also a destruction of spirituality. I think there’s a lot of truth in Dillard saying we doused the burning bush and now we’re trying to light matches under every tree. The strength of what she’s saying, I think, is that once we desecrate our holy places it is not within our power to recreate holy places where we choose. Just like a friend you offend or abuse, you can’t force that friend speak to you again.