Aaltoe’s Blog

We are in an episode
In which we have no code
For its full extent
Or its every possible mode.

The Coronavirus plays out
Our President flays out
The economy crumbles
And Republicans flout

Their ignorance and arrogance
In a fake and vile dance
Displaying rank hypocrisy
While we all look askance.

For there to be an end in sight
We must cast new light
Of warmth and empathy
To set things right

Embodying a different way
Of thinking that can allay
Fear and resentment
Of others and what they say.

And even beyond these urgent needs
We must sew the seeds
Of a new narrative
In which our future reads

As a time in which race
Can no longer be the base
For prejudice and bigotry
But instead be how the case

Is made for a democratic thrust,
Inclusive, and which we trust
Will reconstruct our nation
In ways we must.

Gracefully leaning toward the sky
The daisies lift their precious flowers
With disks of greenish yellow
And their graceful white pettles
Each seeming to have its own agenda.
Below each flowerhead is the added complexity
Of the bracts — hairy leaf like structures
That give strength to the whole
And afford the fragility of the blossoms.
Not always so well struck in other things,
This balance exudes energy
From the dimensions of the contrast,
Ironically heightened by the artificially shortened life
In a vase.

The gentle breeze
The murmuring of the pines
The soft ripple of the waves
The placid sky.
After the robust wind
Had drawn the eye
To its widespread white-capped display
And the ear to the insistent rhythm
Of the breaking waves
Interrupted by crashes
Against the shore.

How nature shapes
Our character and outlook!
From moments of calm and contemplation
To vigorous engagement.
From moments of openness
With relative safety
To those of vulnerability
And watchfulness.
From thoughts that range from
Risk taking and challenge
To reflection and reconsideration.

The adventures of our own minds
Intersect with nature’s conditions in ways
That may not be mutually reinforcing.
Recognizing and taking advantage
Of the creative dissonance
Between the conditions
Of mind and nature.
Can be a source of great strength
Both in composition and in communication.

Just a day at the lake.