Took a silent hike with my class to a glacier pond and painted and wrote two poems. The walk came after hearing an expressive arts therapist from Norway talk about her 15 years of work with Bosnian refugees. Children killed, men tortured in concentration camps. This while I sat in San Diego, in my little bubble. She did great work with them, helping them to return home in their bodies. Unfortunately when many returned home to Bosnia, it wasn’t a warm welcome. And most still have not finished rebuilding their homes. The silent hike in the afternoon was a perfect balancing. At 10:30 p.m. when classes were done, the student lounge was unusually crowded. The beer, wine and left over birthday cake from an earlier celebration helped sooth the hearts of the helpers who can’t heal it all. I headed down the hill as the dancing began. Still feeling quiet, maybe tomorrow I will dance. I leave you with the two poems I wrote while I was at the glacier pond.
Almost Dinner
Mosquito buzzes and bites
Leaving a red welt
My instantaneous reaction
Was to swat
He lies dead beside me
Somewhere at the edge
Of the glacier pond.
Other mosquitoes buzz
Maybe in a funeral song
Maybe just seeing me as dinner…
The Myth Revisited
I go close to the water’s edge
To catch a glimpse of Narcissus
In the glacier water.
I am curious to meet her.
Is she healthy or sick
Happy or sad?
I only see a silhouette
No details that tell any secrets.
Little hairs on the top of her head
Are wild and unruly
Just like mine
I see we have something in common.
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