morning. quiet. tea.

a brown and green lizard with blue racing stripe {s} sitting in an old tattered shoe on the roadside. an injured bird with yellow and blue and white and red on its wings, that won't let me close enough to help. me, simply wishing to get it out of the bike lane so that it may die, {if dying is what it's doing} off in the trees. oh, our human minds...perhaps it likes the bike lane. the warm cement. the strong smell of eucalyptus trees as the air warms. the smell of the leaves on my hands as i grab them from the big arms of the big trees. the pj harvey song running through my head. the sound of my shoes as i walk my bike that won't steer correctly {at all}. word of caution: don't fuck with the headset on your new bike unless you have at least some vague idea of what you're doing. the rush of adrenaline as i rode down through the bushes and trees and dirt and rocks into a ravine. {not by choice} two little girls, four and six maybe, gathering wildgrasses in a field with their mom. the young boy, 9 maybe, giving me a 'thumbs up' as i fight my way up the steepest street i know of in the east bay. the pain in my lungs and legs as i ride up said street. the breeze that blows in the open window while i shower, cold on wet skin. the clock that moves and moves and moves. sleeping. strong and soundly, but remembering no dreams. where do they go when they vanish? morning. quiet. tea.

Posted by jeff pitcher at April 23, 2004 09:12 AM

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