PRIMARY SOURCES

"NOW LET ME LAY IN THE SNOW!"

        --Samantha

Wind, come at me, Sammie says,

kicking off her skis, tossing her helmet

to the snow, along with her gloves.

She's skied to the Mothership

at Wintercamp from Hogback

at 6,500 feet. She's back from

Snow Devil, Vertigo, Northern Sky,

after lunch at High Camp. She's

back from Couloir, Chair Four,

Waterfall and This Way. This

was Sam warming up on the Triple,

over to Cascade, Tucker, and What.

She says, Shortcut, on trails through trees.

Now, she says, Wind, come at me.

Jim Bodeen

8 February 2017

GRAND CHILDREN CASTING AUTOMATONS

On this winter camp, grand daughters,

cousins, make movies at night before skiing.

The movie makers named the hex bugs

as characters in their  movie. Hexbug,

a brand of toy automaton, attract the kids.

Children like the touch of bugs

in familiar rubber, and the way they move

on their own. In their movie, the children

cast Hex Bugs as counselors.

Remote controlled robots

change direction through head rotation.

Both nine, one cousin says to the other,

Look at them, these counselors,

running away from our questions.

Jim Bodeen

6 January 2017

FOR MY SKIING GRANDDAUGHTER

WHO KEEPS A JOURNAL AND READS

Looking at your photo this morning, Kate,

the two of us on skis, somewhere between

High Camp and Snow Devil, my mind

recalls you reading about Dr. King

on his birthday. You are one who lights

up the room opening books. Reading poems

before breakfast, I found these lines,

There's no idea that can lock the lightning up,

but she who's seen the light can't live without it,

by a poet named Montale. I hear you interpreting

Harry Potter, sounding like a professor

at the university. You ski like that too--

a ballerina on skis, graceful with words.

Grandpa Jim

8 February 2017