I would take lessons from an elephant-
Their utter joy in water
is like watching
a small child run
unabashedly through a
sprinkler.
No thoughts of
being messy in the mud
or of wringing water
from wet clothes.
Just getting caught
up in the moment --
becoming the fountain,
at one with the water,
oscillating to and fro.
Perhaps, if I simply watch
I, too, will learn
to recapture the
lost moments of my youth,
running through meadows barefoot,
innocent and free...
splashing in puddles,
wading in creeks,
and spending as much
time as possible
without shoes...
running through
sprinklers.
Maybe then I'll
paint my own
self-portrait
and with a smile
sign my name, too.
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Author Notes
Picture courtesy of Pixabay
My inspiration today is twofold, three-fold really. My best friend, Carol, posts me Facebook videos and pictures of elephants, because she knows how much I love them. (I'll post one here for you.) They always make me smile.
Cat encouraged me to read Mary Oliver, who is one of her favorite poets. I'm not as keen on free verse as I probably should be lol but I did read, as was suggested. One of Mary Oliver's poems, "The Storm," reminded me of the pictures and videos that I get from Carol, of the elephants. And then this poem was born.
Thank you, Carol Thomas, Cat, and Mary Oliver for today's inspiration... and the elephants, of course. :)
(courtesy of Poetseers.org)
Mary Oliver (born September 10, 1935) is an American poet who has won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. She writes in a simple direct way, and many of her poems paint a close relationship with nature. (1984 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for American Primitive)
The Storm
Now through the white orchard my little dog
romps, breaking the new snow
with wild feet.
Running here running there, excited,
hardly able to stop, he leaps, he spins
until the white snow is written upon
in large, exuberant letters,
a long sentence, expressing
the pleasures of the body in this world.
Oh, I could not have said it better
- Mary Oliver
I promised you a video:
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