Not all is learned in books and seminars.. eh? Remember?

Seeing An Old Friend Again

Young Soft-shelled Turtle

Wonderment to younger eyes

Youth to youth meeting.

______________.__________________

We talk about our need of toys

Adventures safe and sound

Captured as we are in houses masked

Few adventures to be found.

Yes, cards are there, and other games

Alone, or for a crowd

And of course, we also have our pets

Many poems for them, book bound.

We have our arts, to sing and dance

A piano, guitar, or drums

We play with others, or to ourselves remit

Inside tunes, memoried verses, sung.

And all the while a best friend sits

In softest movements all the time

Through seasons, Sunrises, and Moonsets

In quiet memories, parts all mine.

I talk about Ol’ Man River

Still remembering that old minstrel song

Deep voice a’there a’singing

About it just rolling along.

I walked those arterial banks when just a boy

Fished sunfish when only three

And alone, found myself in another world

The river showing me things new, to see.

I waded and swam, and yes, almost died

Taking chances, I shouldn’t have done

Yet here I am to sing this poem

No fear, no scars, not one.

Except for one nice livid one

It stretches nicely in my soul

Never leaving the muddy river swum

Living there, not growing old.

A stick to help, time to go out about

Which way, which bank to walk

Miles mean nothing in a memory trek

As Time, it slows to talk.

Come... let me share a different World then yours

You cannot live beneath its waves

It has currents too, to carry you off

To where, or what, you say?

Depends a lot on Season’s presence

Cold, frozen, then walk on ice

Be careful where you walk though

A crack, fall through, cold wet ain’t nice.

And when a’flowing mighty strong

Spring rains, snow melt arrives

It’s banks can rise to cover these lands

Dry land life, may not survive.

But I, this time, do set the pace

As old loved banks… call back again

Where river left new dirt, to grow life fresh

Living crops, feeding hungry men.

Still, dam it up and change its course

Try wrestling it into shape

To make it plain as most housing is

Little worth candling any cake.

Ho-hum, it goes flat and energy’s lost

Making power for only men

While life that lived in it’s seasons strong

Weakens, left only in memory then.

And it was there, I first did find my friend

A soft-shelled turtle, surprised as I

It went into the water, as I laughed in joy

It’s head poking up to meet my eyes.

We looked, and stared at each other

Each wondering what we were

I sat down on that wooded river bank

Letting my young fingers, water stir.

The ripples soft went out to it

I hummed a song of peace

He took a moment, swam back to me

I placed him on my knee.

I call him he, for boy or girl I could not tell

Nor old enough to care

He did fine, head poked out looking at me

For a time we both just stared.

Then I picked him up gently, by his soft green shell

And softly petted his head

Then set him back at rivers edge

So he go swim back home again.

I saw him twice more that year, before winter came

And twice more, in the gentle years that passed

Each time he was bigger, hey, so was I

Looking back, it sure seemed fast.

And the last time I saw him, was at fourteen

I was fishing by an old rotten stump

Using fish tails as bait to catch some bass

Bad day, I was getting stumped.

When all a’sudden, up popped his head

Good God, but he was big

Like a big, green dinner plate, he floated up

As I quickly reeled in my rig.

I threw out some pieces of fish I had

He gobbled them up real fast

Into the river, shoes off, I laughed wading right in

Stood quiet, while minutes past.

And then he did, he swam over to me

Let me softly pet his head one time

And then off he went, and swimming down

His Soul had touched with mine.

The years have past, who forgets such a thing

When wild life meets wild men in peace

With Nature blessing, moments like this

Chaos falling away, in Balance released.

And now, as old as my Grandpa was then

I, like him, sitting, paging my life

Through the chunks of Time that I have lived

All the good times, through calms and strife.

I hold this memory of friend Turtle met

And hope all have a memory, similar to that

Where the World shows what it could be

If we but take some time, to nicely act.

Not in taking or giving, but peaceful share

In that, no cost to bear

But quiet and watchful, all senses alert

Letting Nature set the table, to share.

She sure did a job on me over my time

Owls, hawks, chipmunks and deer

With the soft-shelled turtle opening the door

Never snapped closed, leaving me locked in fear.

Not to say I would approach a bear

An alligator, tiger, lion or moose

But I understand need, to give them their place

For us all to live free, as we choose.

I learned my needs as normal, not bold

But different than a bee’s needs or fish

Clean air, clean water, clean dirt we share

Each bring health to our daily dish.

And as the Sun, it rises up bright each day

Giving us each our Time to live

May we all make sure, to in fair balance pay

So in Sunset passing, will be one of bliss.

bdrusch?10/22/2020