LET'S TAKE THE NEXT 20 MINUTES

LET'S SAY 20 MINUTES,

LET'S SAY YOU DROVE THOSE MILES

Let's say you drove for days,

you've done your time in miles,

let's take the next 20 minutes

for these few minutes in this chair.

Call it manufactured time if you want.

Call it the time that will take all of your time

if you let it, if you give to it

something else again, that one. Red Painted

word on the side of the white pickup door.

Take five if that works

to bring back your 3-minute song.

Days and nights in natural time.

Days and nights in wheel time,

partner time, rolling wheel foot print time.

Crossing dry wash time,

over short-bridge non-clocking time.

Waiting time. Waiting to see your face

beautiful with dust-covering time.

Face-time. Face-to-face time.

So beautiful with dust, dust-covered.

Your own skin asking for lotion.

So much burned away.

So dry. So many water thoughts.

Stored water-thoughts in the mothership cupboard.

You have been with Karen all this time,

on a power boat wheeling. Persisted

and persisting, a practice.

Practicing and practice-time.

Smiling and sometimes practice

smiling back at you. You thought so,

once. and once, bringing yourself,

and only yourself. Bringing only myself.

You thought someone else might tell it wrong.

You didn't know if you could tell it yourself.

Jim Bodeen

29 April2019--Santa Fe, NM--2 May 2019--Yakima, WA