Bare Feet Running – Missing Her (Audio)

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Boy, shirtless, bare feet accustomed to the earth, shaggy chocolate locks lightened by the sun
Favorite ragged cut-offs tentatively hang on narrow hips
The slap, slap, slap of his stride down a well packed earthen path
Something slows and stirs and calls him to leave that way

He lay in a field of deep spring grasses
The warm earth held him, he made a bed between the sharp stiff stems and the soft grasses beneath
The buzz of insects, the call of birds, cow mooing in the distance
Grass and flower and Oak and cattle hung warmly over that place, moved about by the wind

No one had suggested it, there was no Youtube then teaching Westerners to breathe
Perhaps it was the connection of his bare feet to the soil and Her children
Perhaps it was the warmth and the buzz and the fragrance and the light and the tastes on the wind that called to him
His senses connected with the earth created a space there under the wide sky

He breathed in and out without thinking, without knowing that he matched the rhythms of Her
He felt Her pushing back holding him aloft as he lay still as a heavy and ancient stone
His mind began to sleep as his awareness awakened
Gazing deeply into the worlds that exist only in the white shifting shapes above him

He thought things that could not fit or be contained in a word
He thought, he felt, he knew without effort, it just was
He felt connected to Her in a real and material way, the boy was still, yet aware that he moved
She moved, the Earth turned and he turned with Her

He lay there out of time, floating, spinning, senses outgrown by the depth of him
Then, another call like a voice through water claimed his attention
The spinning slowed, the heaviness of him lightened, he remembered the warmth and the buzz and the fragrance and the light
Soon the slap, slap, slap of his bare feet on the hard packed dirt, all he thought was “That was so cool.” . . . bare feet running

He grinned and continued on his way thinking to return there someday.
He just remembered, feet no longer running
Perhaps I should
Perhaps I should have long ago

27 thoughts on “Bare Feet Running – Missing Her (Audio)”

  3. Well, hitting that like button is not enough. Your writing moves me in many ways. The form, you can keep it simple enough to go straight to my heart, without ever being ordinary. The substance, I have been you one day and I wish I could feel like that again. I loved it. Thank you say much. Cheers, HC

  5. Dear man !
    I just came back from … the same situation …
    Just laying in the new grass in the wind, listening to the creek,
    below the Rød-el (must find out in English).
    In the close buzz of happy insects
    with the clean blue high sky above.
    Just what YOU described.
    On our silently wandering Earth.
    i felt like David – with his heart harp –
    and the two rams,
    who was again back in the meadows this first day.
    I left looking at … just was.
    Became one with our Earth.
    For a timeless tid.
    And walked back to work
    … and here is you !
    Too.

  8. Ah! To become ONE with the Earth. So sensual! to realize you’re just as connected as all the birds and bees, and crickets who share the same space as you. I could see, and feel it. Even within the thriving life going on around, the sense of belonging.

  10. Your words are captivating. You capture your memories in such a vivid manner. You write from such innocent and full of life experiences. I have to admit that I envy your blessed childhood. I do find solace in my writing touching others, and enjoying your writing. Thank you for sharing.

  13. I love it. It gives me the same quilty feel as the last two. You excel at this writing. I could feel your connection with the earth in this one. But it’s not just that these poems make me feel a certain way. I see pictures when I close my eyes and listen to you read them. In fact, I’ll send you to show you what I mean…

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