reinforcements are coming!

 high school graduation

there are many steps in the process

from birth to the revelation and development of who one is,

I work in the crucible of middle school,

where the innate essence of each student

is buffeted by temperatures and pressures

that can help their mettle grow stronger,

or, sometimes, make it more brittle,

alternatively, I love the metaphor of working in clay--

hoping I can understand that it's all a process,

and reconfiguring can allow 

what didn't center itself on the wheel well,

to center itself through the next attempts,

each next turning seeks to hold

to the vision of what can be,

today was of high school graduation,

a finishing and celebration of many major steps

and a looking forward to the next steps,

I celebrate how much that those I knew in middle school

still seem to show who they were then in who they are now,

I celebrate the gift of those on stage before us,

our world needs their best,

how wonderful that such reinforcements are coming

to the grand efforts our species needs in these trying times.

by Henry H. Walker

June 10, ‘23

he, she, they, + I, Thou

 

The Centrality of the Pronoun

so much depends on a pronoun,

those not easily grouped by the traditional binary pronouns

ask that politeness and care

describe their journey into understanding who they are,

the choice of the pronoun both simple respect

and profound respect for the uniqueness of the journey,

I just read an argument about animals and plants,

that each should be treated as subject rtaher than as object,

each a cousin of ours: each not an "it," a thing,

but rather a "Thou" to our "I,"

so much can depend on a  pronoun.

by Henry Walker

6/2/23

why bring folks up here?

 

Kids To The Smokies

why do I bring kids to the Smokies?

it's important, and it's work,

the logistics of organizing,

all the plans,

all the shopping,

all the anxiety,

all so that each person

can fit comfortably back into a welcoming nature,

and we can feel as if hugged by a grandparent,

as if each of us is a puzzle piece

that finds the hole for which it is made,

who drinks from a spring

that reminds us to remember

the source from which we come,

why bring folks up here?

it's time to come home,

even if we've never been here before.

by Henry Walker

5/23

challenged by the effort

 

The Effort of a Hike

every hike can be an effort,

particularly the pull up,

each foot of elevation gain

won with investment

investment of muscle and ligament and lung,

today's "pull" had a lot of steps up

which shouted to my legs of effort,

boulders periodically challenged our steps,

many of our group made it to the goal

where valley precipitously appears

and calls to the mountain to notice,

three in the group found the Jump Off

where Mt. Kephart has a 90 degree slope,

straight down 1000 feet,

wherever any of us were on the hike

glory appeared where forest draped itself over rock,

where moss and flower gratuitously created 

moments of wonder.

by Henry Walker

5/23

the water draws you

 Water Play

a creek calls to the young

to jump from rock to rock,

to splash rocks into it,

to skip rocks across its surface,

it calls to the feet to let itself wrap around them,

and it can pull you in deeper and deeper

until you have to let yourself get completely wet

within it,

for a bit you and it are as one,

you both surrender and join,

it's like a new friend who enters your group

and inspires you to release parts of yourself

that you have hesitated to feel

and that makes you even more "you"

than you were before.

by Henry Walker

5/23

to ground self

 

Finding Meaning

everyone should have something that means the world to them,

maybe a horse so close to you, and you to him,  that he's your best friend,

maybe any animals or place you encounter:

a butterfly, a bear, an owl, a flower, a view,

when I call up a special place where I feel grounded,

I call up a green-hued clear mountain stream I have known all my life,

and who is still new to me each time I'm with her again,

it is easy to feel alone,

and yet it's not hard to love outside yourself,

or maybe to just increase who you feel yourself to be.

by Henry Walker

5/23

Yellowstone late February

 getting through the day

late February we found our way to Yellowstone,

to our favorite valley, Lamar, and watched as snow blanketed it all,

we hoped for wolf revelations on this trip,

the wolf hunt to be enabled by great snows

that burdened prey more than predator,

instead we watched

bison, elk, pronghorn, coyote, mountain sheep, 

endure,

many moving down in elevation 

to where getting around was easier, 

as was finding food,

we watched solves move and seek advantage, 

but no thrill of the hunt, 

no exhilaration of the kill before us,

like humans, most of their time

was enduring, preparing, eating, resting,

just quietly working to have a good day,

our experience pretty much encapsulated by a moose we watched,

alone, below zero, in the snowy shrubby willows,

just getting through its day,

like most wolf hunts, our hunt for the wolf

had more of the grand effort

than of the grand result.

by Henry H. Walker

May 23, ‘23