Earth Etude for Elul 17 - Slow Down

by Nyanna S. Tobin

   
Slow food folding like a snail over her slime.

       I remember my Dad in his slow down days.

              Even his deep lined smile crept slowly over his face.

                      A thought made Jack Benny sound like a whirled-gig.

Perhaps my Dad was waiting for his angel,

       While she was waiting for him to scream her name.

              And he never did. 

He seemed to be a life-long prisoner of Fear.

       But my escape from that realm,

             Invited me to gaze around the corner

                   To play hide-and-seek at dawn with Curiosity.

We no longer need to scream.           .

      My older self carries little green hearing aides.

             Sometimes I see the bend of a leaf Curiosity flies by.
                  Today, she, like Tinkerbell, is silent.

                                        

Nyanna is a Social and Climate Activist, Teller of True Stories, and Woodland Singer. She lives in Acton, MA, with Ziggy Dog. She is a proud Charter Member of JCAN.