Saturday, March 13, 2010

time to return to water

last night's walk home
was cheerier than usual
~
as of this morning
or last night
depending on your perspective
it's march break!

the sun is higher in the sky -
so are the temperatures


for each day
of the march break
the temperature will be above zero


the ice on the river is breaking up



time to return
to what the trees
the flowers
the rabbits
the bugs
all living
or to become living
things require

time to return to water

time to become more fluid

23 comments:

Elisabeth said...

More fluid and flexible perhaps, steven. Oh that I could abandon all my rigidites and melt into liquid water again, snap out of the frozen state of sme of my preoccupations. Thanks Steven.

I love to get in first. It's not that I queue up. It must be simply be that I am on the other side of the world and most other bloggers are sleeping as I write to you now in the middle of a late autumn afternoon.

It's still warm here, mid twenties Celsius but the sun has lost its sting, and some of the leaves are losing their grip.

Delwyn said...

Hi Steven

I gather that the March break is a break in the school semester but it sounds like it is also an appropriate term for this time of year when the seasons are shifting, the ice is breaking up, there is a break between winter and summer when spring can slip through, just as the bulbs begin to slip from the frozen ground breaking the clods and the buds slip from their sheaths of green breaking into leaf and flower...oh yes it is the time for a break...

Happy break my friend

Pauline said...

the last few posts have been pure poetry!

steven said...

hello elisabeth - i was speaking with a friend last week about the body language that goes with protecting yourself from the elements during a canadian winter. the layers of clothing you have to wear toy literally protect your body, the hunching inwards, the hurrying from palce-to-place to avoid the cold or the biting wind or the snow and ice. always, always looking where you're placing your next step so as not to fall on ice. it fills your existence if you let it. so the melting, the breaking up, the release extends into the body - literally - you become more fluid, less cautious, less anxious. next week the temperature during the day will be above ten celsius every day. i cannot imagine!!! have a peaceful evening. steven

steven said...

delwyn - march break is an annual ten day event during which schools are closed! i will be writing report cards and individual education plans, cleaning the house top-to-bottom and reading and watching films and being with my boy and my girl!!! lucky lucky me!! i will be watching the wolrd for the natural events you describe for they are surely coming! steven

steven said...

hello pauline - thankyou. this blog - when it's good (in my own view) is easy. it writes itself. i hear the words and see the pictures before they exist. thanks for that lovely comment. steven

hope said...

I love the photo of the piece of ice. Looks like someone raising their arms to yell, "Woo-Hoo! It's FINALLY getting warmer!"

Have a wonderful weekend!

steven said...

hello hope - when i saw that piece of ice drifting down the river i was thinking of martha graham. something in the outstretched arms - robed - and the tilt of the head. we see what we see. steven

Barry said...

There was definitely a spring in Linda's step when she got home last night, Steven. Spring Break has arrived.

And the weather forecast is a fine one.

steven said...

barry! hurray for seeing you! wish linda a peaceful and recharging break from me would you. the weather forecast is crazy good! i see that double digits are in order for the week and then a plummet back to low singles for the first week back!!! have a lovely time with her. steven

Linda Sue said...

WOOHOO! let's go skinny dipping! Temperature above zero! Your shots are really beautiful. The little ice puppy in the lake looks lonely. Glad the melt is on- spring around the corner and the other corner and down the street....They say that folks living in colder climates live longer- you will live to be a thousand years old.

steven said...

linda sue - there are people who skinny dip in the icy waters to raise money for charity. with my slender frame that'd be something of an issue! thanks for the nice compliments. it's funny to think of living a long long time and maybe being aware of the passage of all that time. i'm fifty three this year and thinking about my own little life. well it leaves me wondering! peaceful day. steven

Lisa Ursu said...

what BEAUTIFUL pics! WOW!!!
i feel that cheer in the air myself.
happy saturday to you!

Joanna said...

What a warm welcome your post is for spring Steven. I love the idea of fluidity as a spring metaphor. Do you know the Song by Suzannah McCorkle called The Waters of Spring? She's a jazz singer and with her voice evokes running streams of water.
I hope you have a peaceful and relaxing spring break.

Elisabeth said...

Steven. Whenever I read your wonderful posts I think about hte fact that had Canada's intake of post war migrants not been already filled, I too would be a Canadian.

My parents' first choice of country when they decided to emigrate from Holland was Canada - it was closer to Europe - but as I said, Canada's quota at the time had been filled and so they chose to come to Australia.

It's equally possible I might never have been born had they chosen to migrate to Canada, as all sorts of other events might have intervened to alter the course of the history of the children born to them, but still I like to day dream sometimes about a life in Canada. It is a country I have always loved in my imagination. Though I think it would take me some getting used to the extreme weather.

I saw a program about Canada, a tourist program called Ontario, for some reason even the words of the jingle On-tar-i-o-o stay with me. If only i could add the music, you might know it, too.

steven said...

hello elisabeth, when my parents decided that they needed to emigrate to move our family out of the various ruts it was foundering in, canada was one of three choices. the others were a country in africa, and iceland. i'm deeply grateful for all that has come the way of my family as a result of their choice to live in canada but of course i'm drawn to wonder many "what ifs" of my own! two countries have spoken to me through my life - other than my home - england - and my life country canada. iceland and holland. next summer (2011) my son dawson and i will travel to iceland. i've already been to holland and really loved it but sometime in the future i will bicycle through friesland. i know the song you speak of by the way. we used to sing it when i was a younger kid. thanks for dropping by!!! steven

Elisabeth said...

So you're a migrant too, of sorts, Steven, or at least a second generation migrant, assuming you were born in Canada.

I think one of the reasons I love the blogosphere is that it puts me in touch with people from all over the world in a lively and life enhancing way.

It makes globalisation into a comfortable reality. It softens the edges of our differences, and it puts us in touch with our vast similarities. And that has to be good for us all.

steven said...

hello elisabeth, actually i was born in england. manchester. i left when i was eight and returned a number of times until i turned thirty three and haven't been home since. i am grateful for the quality of connection that the blogosphere begins. there's more, much more to come but this is the beginning and so i am happy to help bring some life into it!!! steven

Barry said...

Elizabeth might be referring to Ontario's theme song, A Place To Stand, which can be heard here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh6CoUau-ac

Reya Mellicker said...

You do endure quite a long winter, don't you? Glad the sun is climbing higher. So it'll be warm and you'll be out on your bike again, zooming past the water.

Onwards and upwards to spring!

steven said...

hello barry - that's the one!!!! oh by the way, as i write this it's snowing outside! yes barry snowing. what the?!!!! ha!! steven

steven said...

hey reya - it's alright. the fire inside keeps burning bright . . . sure it flickers every so often!! i'm hoping to get the bike out next week. the road bike - my racer - is on rollers so i can train through the winter. mmm hmmmm .... watching videos of california as i ride. and i'm going to leave it on the rollers for one more month. the commuter bike will be out soon though. i'm really really looking forward to feeling the wind on my face. steven

Jeannette StG said...

Great pics -you managed to catch patches of sun on the path! And the icy Y - is that for YAY?