exploring
once upon a time I was a lil kid, and I explored. first I explored what I could get away with near my mother or the servants. later I explored how far I could get away while they were distracted: the back yard, the alley behind it, the block that the alley attached to, the street that ran to the edge of town, across the road around the town, into and through the brush that meant "out of town". OMG! animals I wasn't supposed to know. a cave! into that cave. deeper into that cave. past where the sunlight ran out. past where the candle burned out. deeper still, until the flashlight batteries burned out. then I had to turn, and not scream, and find my way out, til I saw light, then still suppressing that scream, walk toward the light. and walk out into the light and do a little war dance! later I explored, when I lived in the city, by walking home along variations from the safe path I was allowed to walk on, finding out what made those variations not safe. even later, in this country, where could I get to on my bicycle? where could I get to past that by walking? later again, what was around my neighborhood in Albuquerque? why wasn't I supposed to prowl those empty blocks? much later, working at White Sands Missile Range, what was on the other side of those hummocks around the work station? what did the dark hide? later on again, working with computers, was there a different way to program and get the same result? which way was better? on my motorcycle, where would I wind up if I took that road? what would I see if I climbed that rock face? how would I get down? and now with poems, is there a tauter way to say it? is there a way that opens other ideas? is there a concrete image that loosens the mind or heart beyond the concrete? how might I stay in touch with people around me while reaching into the unexplored?
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