State of Wilderness

Just sit right back and you’ll hear a tale

A tale of a fateful trip

That started from this south suburb

And ended in a gravel slip

The mate was a mountain biking man

His woman brave and sure

Three passengers set off this day

For a three hour trip, a three hour trip

The first campground started looking rough

A Hipcamp backup plan backed out

If not for the call back from Cowboy’s RV park

A campsite we would be without, a campsite we would be without

The camper set ground on the slip of this new-ish RV park

With Jason and Keely

And Sebastian too,

The mountain biker, wife and child

And a handful of feral kittens

Here at Cowboy’s RV Park

A mile is a long way

When you’re hiking the AT in PA

When the bees are buzzing near your face

And you can’t keep up with your friends’ pace

When sweat is dripping into your eyes

And you have to walk faster or swat away flies

But the rocks, my God, they are everywhere

Watch where you step and beware

And it seems like you are always going uphill

And you didn’t consider just how that would make a flatlander feel

Now your clothes are wet and you might smell a bit ripe

And you are wondering if this trail is really worth the hype

You see all these lithe young backpackers go by

And you realize your youth is gone and you just might die

On this hill, but come on, you can do it

Just put one foot in front of the other

The only way out is through it

Finally, the hike is done and good, it’s time to eat

Get back to the cabin and rest your sore feet

And even though your body will be sore

And you aren’t really sure what you came here for

You’ll look back and remember this as a good time

Eight miles was a long way, with this out of shape body of mine

May 20 2023

“Let the wild things stay wild”

She says, as she reigns me back in

Let them slink silently back into the forest

Let them jump, leap, hop back into the brush

Let them have some sanctuary

A place to escape from us

In Florida wetlands, a pair of sandhill cranes

Crossing a stream with their two offspring

Reminiscent of prehistoric creatures

Wildness on the wing

A pair of otters seen

Heads bobbing in the stream

Spotted, their eyes meet mine

Then slinky bodies retreat into the green

Later, two baby gators

Holding still in a swamp with mama nearby

Anhingas spread out their wings

A hole for a screech owl to hide

Where is the black panther,

The wild hog, the bobcat?

Are they watching us as we walk,

Oblivious to where they are at?

Spring in suburban Texas

A pair of white tailed deer

Step slowly out of the woods

Cross the creek then flee in fear

A flock of monk parakeets gather

While a pair of bald eagles fly by

Woodpeckers thump and owls hoot

And forest path is lit by firefly

“Let the wild things stay wild”

She says, as she sets me free