Another Poem in the Continuing Series About the Fall of 2005

October 17, 2005
Saturday morning we went to the farmer’s market

Only in recent months have I seen how real and vital it can be
to follow the seasons
to see that they really do exist and can be observed
October is apples and potatoes and persimmons and pomegranates
the autumnal air and light and color and bustle
We got yellow wildflowers with brown middles
and put them in a brown glass jar

Of course there are all kinds
of philosophical, moral, economic, emotional, ethical
freight
that come loaded onto the choice
the luxury
to eat and shop like that
or to decide
as I did on Sunday
to go to Whole Foods instead of Cala
to use fancy linen spray when I do the ironing
to choose that which is beautiful and rich
over the ugly and flavorless which are most people’s only choice
to want and to get to add sensory delight to the daily round
I think about those things
But in the end they cannot curtail my pure enjoyment

That afternoon we walked up
to the park of the fountain of the turtles
and read our books in the sun
came home and had a glass of wine
You can actually observe physical tension ebb away
in people you know well
out of their face and their the shoulders
like wax going soft in the sun

Sunday was much more active
got up early
and Bill made scones
and I did the laundry and got those Whole Foods groceries
In the afternoon I went to El Cerrito to garden
and enjoyed myself immensely
The dirt and the roots and the mess of it
The sloppiness and the order
the nurturing and the hacking away
Seed packets
Terracotta
Bumblebees
Mud and snails and flowers
and the smooth wooden handles of the fork and the trowel

image source is here