December 2012 Selected Poems #'s 1 & 2

leaves fall

the river reappears

there all the time

              --Patrick Mizelle

Example Case

Regret without wishing it otherwise, here’s an example.

Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that you’re involved in the break-up, and

Let’s say that you determine that driving into the rice lands due West,

Even though the sun is below the Coast Range, is a good idea.

And so you do, and it is, and soon you’re strolling about on an irrigation road,

Alone except for hundreds of water fowl and their distant calls that

Stretch to the color of the sky, that in this bless-my-soul clear day, now

Hums an avocado hue, swear to god, and - of course -

Reflects in the flooded fields, in places the water and sky light nearly touching, equally bright.

And the moon is up and the birds are on wing,

And your heart is brimming – another field flooded with light.

So let’s say this is happening and you realize that the person you must leave,

First showed you that we all

Live in one vast heartland of the World - our native home.

The feeling that you might be having right then,

Might be an example of regret without wishing it otherwise.

I’ve learned from science instruction it’s best to provide an example case.

--Chris Gaffney