Our Path

Without incident we walked
And every few minutes
I talked. Good dog, Good dog.
On we went through the park.
All the time my dog here
There, everywhere
A scent sensation.
And when I wanted
To stop to photograph
This late September early morning
I said, Freddy, sit, and he sat
And he waited and when I said
Okay on we went 
Our way past Meadow Trail
And Beaver Brook.
This is my path. Our path.
We came to a hill.
I huffed and puffed to the top.
And my dog wagged his tail
To the top. We made our way
Home. I cut zinnias.
Red, orange, yellow, cream
And purple cosmos
For a vase that rests on a table
Next to my garden.
Soon I will be dead-heading
All the cosmos and zinnias flowers.
There must be thousands!
Still bright and bold and colorful
In the garden. I change 
The water in the three bird baths.
I prune the rose bushes and I am
Not sure at all of what
I am doing. I water
The potted plants.
So many bumblebees!
They fly from zinnia to zinnia
To cosmos to cosmos. They do
Their job. Never I imagine
Thinking I am so busy today.
They follow their path.

Gary Snyder wrote:

"Reality-insight says get a sense of immediate politics and history, get control of your own time; master the twenty-four hours. Do it well, without self-pity. It is as hard to get the children herded into the car pool and down the road to the bus as it is to chant sutras in the Buddha-hall on a cold morning. One move is not better than the other, each can be quite boring, and they both have the virtuous quality of repetition. Repetition and ritual and their good results come in many forms. Changing the filter, wiping noses, going to meetings, picking up around the house, washing dishes, checking the dipstick---don't let yourself think these are distracting you from your more serious pursuits. Such a round of chores is not a set of difficulties we hope to escape from so that we may do our "practice" which will put us on a "path" --- it is our path."

I made dinner. Black beans
And rice. And wine.
And our dog and cat
Slept as we watched
Nashville. And I am
Blessed. Our house
Our family.