The Sky Withholds
night. In this event I breathe alone, one entity hoarding
space. And to where do shadows retreat under moonless skies?
I sit among the cedars and mourn my life’s dogs. Dark memory,
raven nights layered upon days, trailing more memories, white
after black. We regard their appeal, their limitless reach into
other systems and the fissures between thought and action,
dawn and closure.
“The Sky Withholds” was first published in Bright Sleep in July 2017.
O at the Edges 
Oh Robert, I’m still in that dawn and closure bit, but feel the need of a furry friend is not far away…….woof
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We just adopted a kitten. Talk about energy!
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“And to where do shadows retreat under moonless skies?”… Ann Arbor, Michigan. Good schools and restaurants, stable economy, plus reasonable weather for the northeast USA.
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Who knows where I’ll be in three years? Though I’ve been to Michigan quite a few times, I’ve never visited Ann Arbor. I have no complaints about Indianapolis, except the lack of job interviews. Ha.
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Honestly? I love small American towns, they invariably have some type of charm about them, somewhere/somehow to be found. For example, I did an artistic residency in Nebraska City, Nebraska. Getting up early in the morning to gather with a local group of business people at the local cafe to eat breakfast and talk about politics and business, chatting with the people at the little grocery store, the lazy paced main street and the nice people strolling along, listening to the local junior high students practicing drills with their marching band, listening to baseball games on the radio while working on scores… it felt like Opie and Aunt Bee were going to walk around the corner at any moment!
Another time I was visiting Mt. Holyoke for a conference and got the chance to go for a morning swim at the college pool. It as a grey, foggy morning with the sun starting to shine through, filling the space with ethereal light illuminating a giant American flag hung at the far end. There were only two of us using the pool, so there was lots of space to do laps and/or just happily float. To me, a Canadian, it had such a special unnamable “American” feeling to it, a loveliness that makes you fall in love with the US so deeply the more you feel it.
I wish I could explain to hardcore Conservatives AND hardcore Liberals how wonderful the US is (why they should stop insulting each other and agree on how fantastic the US is, understand why we foreigners love it so much and want to return time and time again. I love Canada, but the USA will charm the shit out of you, so much you never want to leave! 🙂
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Small towns are fascinating. I hope to spend time in the coming months exploring those within easy driving distance. It’ll be fun. And illuminating.
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I once got the chance to wander around Ystad, Sweden for an afternoon. The 13th century friary, cobblestone streets, watching a dazzling pearl of a Sun rising through the steely mists over a shimmering silver (Baltic) sea, more there for the soul than the thrills of 3 Stockholms combined!
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I’ve also seen more than my share of sad small Texas towns, with empty buildings at the center, and Walmart on the outskirts…
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Walmart… so useful and convenient… yet so cancerous to small town economies, a silver cloud with a dark lining.
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Time and again, I’ve seen it happen.
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