From Townsend, MA to Saratoga, NY
Ashburnham
after 12:00
yellow hanging mailboxes
a little synaptic pruning
concurrent with a little growth
dragging old beliefs about what i can and can't do
to the trash
making room
to be excited
entering Rindge
and New Hampshire
blue White Mountains
in the distance
thinking about
taking care of a yurt
and a toddler
and school
and work
"He solves my family problems
JESUS CHRIST"
{{from a bumper sticker}}
house of yellow gables
splash in a green pond
a thick green snot splash
imagining
stocks of nuts and pasta
in clear glass bottle rows
on shelves
lots of warm hand knits
and silk long underwear
suzuki, gymnastics, and horseback riding
quick elevation changes
and stomache drops
corn staubbers to hold corn on the cob while you eat
and all of my other southern girl expressions
planet aid drop boxes
1:00
it's been an hour
a really strange burning smell wafting in the window
vertical piles of black eyed susans, yes it's still summer
a hawk at 500 feet
yin yangs on pale yellow squares on an old brick
factory on the far shore of the creek
following me on my left
i can see chinese workers
taking a lunch break near the water
eating bowls of rice
wooden playgrounds
and then a tin playground like from my childhood
discovered after my very first train ride
Hinsdale, NH
reassessing what's most important
and deciding to make an effort
towards those things
like keeping in touch more with my
little brother
and sewing more clothes
and planning fun outings for Pop
one of the 2 radio stations
i can pick up
is playing country music
bad country music
knitted animal pillows in the window of a Brattleboro store
knit or dye
brilliantly blonde family having a meal
motown oldies
a mobile home, a red barn, and about 30 broken down cars
all on one plot
took a side trip down a brattleboro road
lots of "dangerous intersection" roads
lots of people walking
a good sign for a prospective might-live-here-one-day town
teenagers in camouflage with hunting bows
107.7
talking heads
then some hip hop
i'm in a very oldies/classical mood
but everything is fading within moments as i zip through towns
hogback decline
2:08
the lake west of wilmington looks like
a nice swim spot
low, rocky beaches
i like being in Vermont
just driving through makes me feel good
a little wider,
more spacious
adds some square footage to my spirit
i see lots of things i'd like to buy on the sides of these roads
old RV's in pretty colors, wooded properties, a black moto
i'd give to my little brother
what's winter camping like?
a man runs all alone
up a mountain
dressed in black
with a rosary around his neck
he's old and grey but strong
a runaway truck ramp
with fresh tracks
old ride-on tools with a fresh coat of dust
separate entrances on either side of a school for "Girls" and "Boys"
a stop in Bennington 2:39
back on the road 3:50
the spinning wind sculptures
aren't moving very fast
considering all the wind
that's blowing around and in the tree tops and in my window
welcome to the Empire State
with a field of tall purple wildflowers
i picture a little house
on a plot of land
with a little pond for swimming
or a creek
and another guest tiny house or yurt or whatever
and a pony
and a westfalia for trips
hand from the sky holding hand from the earth
the yucky brown Hudson of New York
with it's PCB-lined shores
where no one should step with bare feet
and a boring, traffic-jammed 87 spurt
home
5:00
