"June 1st"

Below is a poem I wrote when sitting on my balcony enjoying the beautiful day. I began by simply documenting what was going on- what I heard and what I saw. I figured it was just an exercise for me to get in the present moment. By the time I finished, I realized this exercise held a greater meaning.



Constant blow of our air conditioning,
distant bounce of a basketball,
periodic chirping of birds.

A car door slams-
    two car doors.
There is a subtle ruffle of leaves,
     the breeze is mild today.
The car door slams again. An engine starts.
Now there are voices- young voices.
    A friend must have joined the solo dribbler.

Most of the grass is covered in shade now,
the trees are casting long shadows.
Now is the primetime for mosquitoes,
     they swarm everywhere, though you can only see them
     when the sunlight shines on their fluttering wings.
The downstairs neighbor just came out to his patio.
He sprays mosquito repellent before taking his dog for a walk.
The spray smells like camping as a child, when my mom would spray me
     before I explored the wilderness of the KOA campground.

Kinda creepy those things are---
    mosquitoes.
They get ya when the weather is nice and you
    don't have a care in the world. When temperatures call for at most
    a light sweater.
They latch on and suck the salty blood only to leave an irritating bump.
Well, that's if you're lucky--
    Mini vampires.
I sit here repellent-less-- open to attack.
 
   Now that I acknowledge it,
it sounds irresponsible to remain vulnerable to be sucked dry like that.



We owe it to ourselves to protect and honor our greatest treasures: our spirits, bodies and hearts.