Footwear in my daily life usually involves flip flops, tennis shoes, and whatever “fashionable” shoes I decide to wear to work. Footwear on this trip to the Pacific Northwest has taught me the importance and value of my hiking boots. I brought them thinking I would need them on days when we decided to do some “real” hiking–but I have worn them everyday…walking on the beach, on the mountain, in the forest, and around town. Here’s a little ode to my hiking boots:
In My Hiking Boots
In my hiking boots
I explore wild and windy coastlines
briny breezes upending my hair
spectacular vistas soothing my eyes
In my hiking boots
I climb snowy mountains
strapped to red snowshoes
breathing in unspoiled air with my head in the clouds
In my hiking boots
I tromp through forests
of a million shades of green
gazing up at waterfalls
that drop torrents of water
feeding ferns, moss, and a wonderland of wildflowers
In my hiking boots
my feet are dry and warm
my heart is full
and life is good.
Douillard 2018
This is a gallery of some of the wildflowers I found along my watery hikes today as we went out in search of waterfalls and witches’ houses!
I got another student poem via email today. Here’s her vision of the night sky…another ode of sorts!
Stars
When the sun melts down into the bleeding horizon,my twinkling friends appear.First one, then another, then they all come,like raindrops falling from the clouds.They dance as if they are swimming,making ripples in a watercolored sky.Their silver images are like a million rockets,dazzling nocturnal eyes.Sadie
And here’s another student poem, inspired by Williams’ The Red Wheelbarrow:
The Voice
So much depends upon
People’s voices
Sharp or dull in the day or night
Inside a friend’s heart.
By Kai
What are you appreciating today? Maybe it will find its way into a poem!