To the courier's carriage, filled to bursting

Phosphorescent green near the Staircase Ranger Station in Olympic National Park

Gravel rocketing
with the weight of man
and machine —
slide wheel slide —
wagon waggin’. 

What errand! 

Lugging life alongside
the curious tongue 
of tide. Ferns young,
and teetering between
phosphorescent forest and
bruise green. 

To be 
grand as ground’s
cover, whispering

“If your mind were only
a slightly greener thing, 
we’d drown you
in meaning.”

---

True story! The other morning, I saw a man riding along on the gravel boardwalk with a little bike wagon which I assumed to be carrying a child or, in Washington, a dog. It even had a tall sign post sticking off the back as if to draw additional attention to the wagon. As he coasted by me, showering my shins in shell shrapnel, I glanced over the sides of the wagon to the surprise of nine baby ferns sitting side by side. Sir, godspeed with your delivery. 

That last stanza is a line by Richard Powers from his book The Overstory (line breaks added by me). I just can’t get it out of my head. I’ve shared the book multiple times, I know. Anyway, here’s me saying I’ll try to not mention green things next week … we’ll see. ‘Tis the season.

Thanks for reading.