Framing


It’s kind of scenic, where we live:
valley golf course with condos
dotting surrounding hills—
land that once belonged
to the Miwok.

When I go out walking
I nearly always take pictures.
I don’t plan it that way,
but any glimpse of pure Nature
calls up  a deep hunger for wildness!

I tear the phone
from my pocket
and carefully frame the arc
of a perfectly-shaped hill
so that the bottom of the shot
is just above all manmade structures.

I may glimpse a pristine world
peeking out between
two condo buildings.
The trick is to strip away
any evidence of human presence.

In this way I’m able
to create for myself
the very world I long for.

***
(m.r. Dec. 27, 2020)
photo by m.r.