Marshall Fire
our latest calamity:
half the town burning down
I crawl into bed after watching it burn
and the blanket shoots sparks into my hands
oh fire and ice gods
winter and spring axes
let me recall how to press these palms
so they still manage to hold joy
let me find a way to still
admire a stray spark
Couldn’t make our slideshow in person? Trying to remember some of our Top 20 sites? Here’s the recording of our presentation!
Here’s the Google Slides slideshow itself if you want to click on the links to any of the locations:
Have you thought of more questions? Comment here and we’ll be glad to answer!
Join us Sunday, January 10th at 3pm Mountain time (2pm Pacific, 4pm Central, 5pm Eastern) as we share some of our favorite memories and images from our trip around the world (August 2019-March 2020). We each chose our favorite place from each of these categories to highlight for you:
Join us by Google Meet at this link: https://meet.google.com/shz-imyw-zmf Note that this Meet setup requires us to let each person in individually, so there will be a brief wait before you enter.
Can’t make it tomorrow? We’ll record our talk and put it up here on robertsonrambles.com for you to watch when the time is right for you!
chokecherry
even when a great fat pit
sits right at the center of things
the fruit can still be savored
let sun bake tart into tang
until the wizened sphere
rests against your unsure tongue
nibble away anyway
until your mouth is flooded
with chewy purple-blue
surprising reassurance
there’s still some sweetness left
in this old blasted summer
birthday season
we’re so glad you’re here
your spark makes our lives glow
and since you drew your first breath
things have never been the same
we’re saying this
with candles and cards
wrapping and ribbon
doughnuts and ice cream
Sharpie on the door jamb
marking your ascent into adulthood
friends and family stopping by
to throw the floodlight of their love
squarely in your grinning face
every year we mark the miracle
that you arrived at all
(and better yet – you are amazing
and better still – we still breathe together
now)
learning a language
tongue clicks purrs jaws grinding stretching holding up one leg a sharp call
and a low warble
moment by moment
we learn how to speak
parrot
or lover
or child
each time banking on
the patience and goodwill
of our innocent instructor
we learn a new way
to say what we need
awaiting Perseids
gazing up at Cygnus
winging her way westward
pushing Hercules out of the way
we learn bright new names
think of Arab princes
in towers millenia before us
seeing nearly the same shapes and colors
for as unpredictable
as a single day here is
a lifetime blinks by
with the stars in the same shapes
or nearly so
as they took
when your grandfather
was only a boy
13 in 2020
he needs a bigger bookcase
and pants that fit
a haircut strategy
and a phone of his own (eventually…)
he needs to be pulled outside
to get his blood pumping
and unify body + mind
he needs to know
when normal will resume
a timeline for his tropical dreaming
when he can next dust off that life list
how many years until his passport
will be stamped again
he needs some certainty
about where he’s going
and when
and all I know for sure is
none of us knows what’s next
but wherever he is
is even more wonderful
for his deep-feeling heart
ancestors
we are here
and we see you
each one of us trailed
by our ancestors’ shadows
radiating out from our small souls
like spokes from a turning wheel
like the infinite bodies extending
away from ours
in the dressing room mirror
when we speak
echoes of their beliefs rattle
through the drums of our chests
we are never alone
with us they say
in their own silent tones
we are here
and we see you
encouraging words
boxes stacked toward the ceiling
of the still living room
I sift through the papers
of the years
of heartstrings
so many souls
keep us alive
and more –
keep us dreaming and doing
becoming more than we might have
exceeding our own expectations
stretching to just barely
nudge against theirs
