Wednesday, July 31, 2024

Poem for Tuesday and Ballard Locks

The Fish Ladder 
By Timothy Donnelly 

To be the fish on the ladder
     and not know what it means. To feel the bronzes,
          the pearls, the greens, but in a context
               of pure combat. To fight the literal stream

we hurl ourselves into for no
     discernible purpose, other than some molecule
          says it will be worth it. To feel
               worthless enough to listen. To feel

something rather than nothing, the rungs of it
     a punishment, a goading
          into againstness, against the current. To come to know
               the concrete intimately. To come to know

what we want is. To come to know what we want is
     to be the fish on the ladder
          nonetheless. To feel the sun
               like a god we can discern. We hurl

our self into it, being for this purpose. To come to see
     what there is left to feel. To come to feel
          some other. To come to know
               what we want is. To be the fish on the ladder.

-------- 

Paul got up very early to be at Michael's Toyota when it opened so we could find out what was wrong with the van, which turned out to be a vapor leak because the gas cap seal needed to be fixed, so that was fortunately pretty small, easy to fix, and not horribly expensive. When he got back, we watched the US Olympic women's gymnastics team win the gold while I folded laundry, then we did assorted work while checking in on swimming and other sports (I rooted for the Israeli swim team but they finished last in their heat). 

We went for an early walk to the beach in gorgeous overcast weather before my Voyager group, which actually managed to watch an episode this week, the not-great but not-terrible "Critical Care" with its anti-socialized-medicine themes. Then we watched the end of the Orioles game over dinner before catching up on Orphan Black: Echoes, which made very little sense, and the first episode of Time Bandits, which was fun. No auroras, but we saw a beaver late tonight! Here are seals, salmon, seagulls, boats, and more at Ballard Locks:

2024-07-28 13.04.18

2024-07-28 13.14.38

2024-07-28 12.56.52

2024-07-28 12.59.14

2024-07-28 13.10.23A

2024-07-28 12.54.32

2024-07-28 12.59.07

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