Oh, No, Sorry

The night’s cold around me,

The stars awakened

The traffic on the beltway reverberates

so close as if it were next door rather than a mile or more

it’s funny although in a different state

I can hear the same beltway traffic

As I did when I was young

And the autumn’s the same

The stars the same

And all of these lines printed on maps

Mean nothing

Unless you want them to.

I grew up a country girl/city girl

Heart in the country, life in the city

But all that got me was a messed up brain

I wanted to hear the whippoorwill at night

The bobwhite during the day

Smell clean country air

But a widowed ma lived in the city

And I was a kid with no means to stay country

So I gave what was in my heart away

You probably don’t understand unless you’ve been there

Opened your mind and heart

Put away your cell phone, walked and listened

To nature unfolding around you

I guarantee it’s there. It’s always there.

I’m a country girl in city girl’s clothes

Hearing things you don’t

Nose pressed to your iphone

You’re hardly aware of your own existence.

A woman almost ran into my faithful companion and me

Yesterday, in evening, with the air bright, the sky beautiful,

Her nose against her phone, she said “sorry” barely glancing up

Sorry.