Jericho Families in Nature (JFiN) If only I could go outdoors

If only I could go outdoors

Bernie Paquette

Oh but for the wood stove

so toasty and warm

does she release her wooden embers

lighting up the dark early morning

relieving me of the need 

for sweaters, coats, mittens, and boots.

Oh but for hot coffee in a cup

instead of a thermos

hot cocoa to boot.

Steam need not melt my frozen mustache

for it has not touched frost in days

simply lying limp and doleful over my lips.

But for Twitter, Instagram, and the whole world wide web

bringing me here and there

mirrored images to envision, listening to echos,

d i g i t a l l y composing my world from zeros and ones

artifically composing eroding real

images, sound - only simulating LIFE.

For time to play, for time to explore, for time to discover

I work, chase things, fill empty promises, hide behind doors

bury me inside and out

lose my way

inside me

dark, cold, staid - inside. 

Oh but to be childlike again

so toasty and warm

in mittens and galoshes, overstuffed coat, pom-pom hat

sun's embers tanning my face

snowflakes ticking my nose

relieving me of inner stress. (I think they call it unstructured playtime).

Oh for the key 

that will open my door

release me from my inner chamber

I once thought kept me warm 

now chills me with despair

LIFE is on the other side.

Oh but for a dying fire

encouraging me to move my limbs

securing a knapsack on my shoulders

portable snack and beverages so I don’t venture TOO far from home.

Release me wooden structure, a casket will be my home soon enough

let me venture outdoors to taste, feel, smell, hear, see what lives wild.

For today I will venture out of doors, away from simulation onto stimulation.

LIFE, real life, as diverse as evolution can create, more so than I can imagine

more than all the ones and zeros in the world

awaits me

what will I encounter

oh for the key that would allow you to come with me

outdoors.

JFiN - Jericho Families in Nature