nesting

today it has rained steadily,

steadily enough to keep me inside, that is.

i am tired

and the sky is heavy

and i have no sticks to show today.

portrait of myself as a collection of dutch office supplies

2,554 steps.

myself in relation to kolderveen.

meneer ooievaar

goedemorgen, meneer ooievaar.

i say to the wind while squinting through glass

that brings me up next to him, my good sir,

mr. stork.

he is sitting quietly this morning

i imagine he is thinking of his mate,

mevrouw ooievaar, mrs. stork,

to come back from her morning parades

to greet him, 

& they'll throw back their heads

and laugh with their beaks

and click-clack clattering laugh,

and all will be well

and i ride on,

with my red-riding helmet

in the early dawn.

i wonder how many of my steps

does it take to get from one end

of kolderveen to another?

today it took two-million

slow steady straining steps

to get from washington

to now.

but i am here,

and i have never heard such birds

or seen such green

or smelled such smells

like that of here

and that of now.

today i am tired,

but tomorrow,

everything will be new again

and from dream to waking dream

i will begin.

on my way

i am climbing

from one mechanical bird

to another.

here, 

in the middle of this continent

the world is humming buzzing bursting

and i am flapping further flight,

taking off

from every here

to newer nows,

sleeping with the ocean.