Forgive the hymn, friend. Out of doors
it doesn’t count as praying.
– Quinton Duval (“One Bright Morning”)
It may be hours before a word escapes
my mouth across the creek, through
half-a-dozen gates latched behind me
like pairs of quail disturbed for a moment –
over snake tracks and caravans of ants
beneath the inquisitive wing of a Red Tail.
Suddenly, I hear my voice come from
the outside in, a gravelly phrase added
to conclude the conversation in my head.
I have to laugh at my reply in the same voice
before one of us cuts it short – like making
ugly faces, it could be habit forming,
so addictive that I might forever stay
praying like crazy in the wilderness,
talking to cattle and animals, to twisted
trees, perfect springs, ever-seeping – all
who say lots of things these days, as if they
knew something – and someone’s got to listen.
drycrikjournal 
John,
I live alone, but am not lonely, so I recognize this experience, though from a less beautiful perspective. Sometimes I am surprised at the sound coming out of myself when I laugh in appreciation at something read, or remembered.
I recently inherited a small dog which gives me reason to speak aloud, but I have decided that it is alright to talk to oneself. Even though it’s considered a sign of old age, (72) I think it has more to say about retirement and being comfortable with ones self.
Thanks for the beautiful pictures you paint with words.
LikeLike
Thanks, Phyllis for your kind comments. Never really abandoned on this page, I continue to edit these poems after posting, but I may have weaned this one a bit early – your feedback was helpful. I’m always surprised when my mental conversations are suddenly audible, as if I just arrived.
LikeLike
Isn’t it interesting? Where do we arrive FROM when that happens? And what makes old songs or conversations or pets or landscapes start to play in our heads, as visibly and audibly as if they were happening now?
LikeLike
Thank-you so much, ladies. And how can we ever become more humane, have hope and greater expectations for humanity, if we cannot explore, admit and accept being human? I suspect what we don’t know, despite the science, is more than what we think we do about mankind.
LikeLike