Aaltoe’s Blog

Of the bear from hibernation
Of moth from caterpillar
Kitten from cat
Mind from contact with a great teacher
Actor first arriving on stage

It speaks to the miracle of life
And to the miracles within life
The mystery of what happens
In such nurturing conditions
As permit emergence.

It requires a prior state
No longer able to impose its limits
A transformation of being
Newly able to cope
With different challenges
Changed relationships
With the surrounding world
In which dependence, independence
Mastery and vulnerability
Are differently defined.

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The uneven landscape
Of human readiness,
Readiness that implies something knowable
For which we may be ready
Uneven when forces from within
Face those from without.
The blankness of a magician’s face
As he pulls the rabbit from the hat
The kindness of the doctor
When he tells you something difficult to hear
The triumphant look of the runner
Winning a close race in near record time
The radiant strength of the mother
Newly with child
The ambiguity of a smile
From an old friend.
And how that landscape changes
In moments of surprise
Disappointment, anger.

What is character
Except the prominence of some features
Ready to engage
Adaptable to the moment
And others, furrowed deeply
Little changed
But suggesting beliefs
Enduring threads of thought
Traces of past struggles
Inklings of irony.

Into the swamp
A solo sally
Stepping from hummock to hummock
Tenuously balanced
While watching for waterbirds, snakes.
A wet foot from a momentary misstep
The joy of being
Of the swamp.
I grab the garter
By his tail
An uneasy relationship
Soon he slithered away
From his unwanted encounter.
But he had displayed his beauty and his strength
Through his desire to depart.
The fragile frog
I caught with care
His breath, his eyes
Soon suggested he knew
I wanted to hold him
Only briefly
To share his wildness, his courage
His pulsing presence.
The grey squirrel lingered
Almost to say something
Then scampered away, out of sight

I finally headed home
To my supper
My dog, my mom, my dad
My bath, my bed,
My dreams