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The controversial Willits Bypass

Opens this week.

Our Main Street

is no longer a highway.

Old logger sighs

Will this three mile stretch of concrete

relieve congestion, reduce delays, and improve traffic safety

as has been promised for so long?

Warbler cries

what is the short and long term impact

of the wetlands fill

the concrete divide?

Young man lies

There no way

The local economy

can get any worse

People here care about the natural environment

Creativity

People

and small local businesses.

So what does a 300 million dollar

highway improvement project

Paid for by the state

50 years in the making

Have to do with that?

The trees scream

Fall colors

And long afternoon rains

The harvest is over.

What is this place?

Who are we?

Why are we here?

And how will we live together?

The dog pants at my feet

Twenty minutes chasing the ball and life is good.

In and out of breath, reassuring and rhythmic.

Life is too big for us to hold;

We can only gasp, in quick, desperate gulps.

On our backs from all the chasing and running.

Meanwhile the breeze nudges

the leaves into a dance.

Meanwhile my guatemalan iced coffee

melts local ice cubes.

Water from this ground, in a container from China

Number 700059L24C.

When I was a kid, I imagined death

with piles of your own garbage

Everything you’d accumulated in your life.

I re-used bags and refolded packaging.

Buried with the least amount of stuff.

That was the goal.

Today, I let out my breath.

Rivers and streams and so much to see.

I want to learn about birds.

Feel real love.

Fill the void.

Soothe the aches.

Maybe, though, lying down,

Panting, is everything there is.

Life itself

In brilliant, pulsating

Inspirations

And exhales.