June is quietly considering busting out... maybe just a little...
.... or maybe June's just going to melt us all away. The air hangs thick and pungent. I visit the world from my 18th-floor eyrie and watch outside people (and their doggies) coming and going and distancing socially. I think that must be easy since there are not very many of them. I mostly can't tell from up here if the humans are wearing masks, but in my heart I believe they are. I haven't ventured out for more than 11 weeks now, but I have a couple of cloth masks ready for the "right time"... and supplies to make some more, should the mood (and momentum) discover me. Urgency is not a part of my equation.But wishful dreaming is. I have a list of things to do once I'm liberated. I know that'll be in stages, but my list is for wishing, not planning... yet.
In the meantime, my balcony Buddha supervises my outdoor barre (aka balcony railing) exercises and my indoor tai chi and even some seated tap dancing—especially with Bojangles' birthday just past.
...and that reminds me...Summer...
San Antonio, Texas.
Over a half-century ago.
Listen... that's me practising
My tap dancing.
The music's Sweet Georgia Brown,
Sometimes in Dixieland
But most often a simple piano solo.
I can't remember who played.
But I do remember
The steps...
And I do remember
The smells.
I tap and tap
Change combinations
Ad infinitum.
Childhood home
Comes equipped with
Screened back porch.
Perfect practice room
Away from reading
And television-watching parents.
Here I can crank up
That music and
Tap with all my might.
Oh, yes,
Smells.
I did mention Smells,
Didn't I?
Hot summer sun is filtred
Through live latticed walls of
Honeysuckle and Jasmine.
Vines are thick with tendrils
Intermingled with blossoms of
Unforgettable fragrances.
I tap and tap,
Wipe face
With towel that
Hangs 'round neck.
I gulp air filled
With sweetness
Stirred by breezes,
Where each gust mixes
Potion with
New variation on
Nectar's theme.
How can I describe
Smell?
Maybe you've known
Honeysuckle.
Maybe you've known
Jasmine.
Have you known them
Together?
They smell of
Sun and
Dancing dust motes.
They smell of
Joy and movement.
They smell of
Nature's hopes
And promises.
They smell of
Effort to be better:
Determination.
Quicker and slower.
Shuffles and flaps.
Turns and cramp-rolls and kicks.
Black tights.
Gold lamé Cuban heels.
Capezio taps.
They smell of
Sweaty terry cloth.
They smell of
Soft rustlings.
They smell of
Butterflies and
Hummingbirds.
Oh yes,
And bees.
Of course.
They smell of
Rhythms.
They smell of
Memories in my bones.
I'm showing you
Some of my memories here,
Evoked by smells past.
Just relax and drink them in.
This summer I invite you
To notice each day's smells...
To remember smells past
And
To find ways to enjoy...
And describe
Your smelliest summer ever.
Look!
The joy is still around us.
...
If this isn't nice, what is?
~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course
