Summer of 2023 Volume 2
The second part of my summer took me to the coast of Oregon
and Montana, harvesting mist, light, color and wildlife.
I visited old friends, made new friends, listened to stories, attended a writer's workshop, and fished my favorite waters.
David Gallipoli
on
my way
to the coast
Silver Spot
Rosettes of mist rise
on a coastal meadow
the scent of salt and decay
a graveyard of marine life
The chill of the morning lingers
Gulls laugh and moan
in the shades of
a rising sun
melting the mist
The home of the Silver Spot
tangerine body,
golden brown wings
black spots
remind me of brown trout
The early blue violet
disappearing from their menu
photographs on display
I tell the forest service worker
I would like to get a photo of one
she tells me, "That will be difficult
the silver spot
has disappeared
from the coastal meadows
of Washington
may soon disappear from Oregon."
threatened by subdivisions, malls
an abundance of asphalt
That will end thousands of years of
transformation and rebirth.
I go to the meadows
to see a silver spot
before they disappear
like the morning mist
disappears from a warming sun.
The mist will survive.
The silver spot cannot be replaced.
David Gallipoli
coastal forest
lush
green
timeless
The Coast of Nostalgia
the cool, wet sand between my toes
reminds me of childhood summers
on Long Island Sound
skimboarding, fishing for snapper blues,
off the jetty during the day
waist-deep for
striped bass at night
barefoot all summer
riding our bikes
as if summer would last forever
friends gone like sandcastles disappear
as the tide takes with each surge
first the walls, then the town,
and finally, the castle
the pacific coast
a beach of people,
walking, collecting
building, flying kites,
enjoying a salty breeze
waiting for the
guarantee of a setting sun
a sunset that melts into the ocean
without a splash
without a hiss,
without steam rising
giving a scattering of reds, oranges, and pink
nostalgic memories
and the promise of a new day.
David Gallipoli
watching
walking
flying
waiting
for
Harvesting mist, light and color in Montana
The soul of horses
tells me how I should treat others.
A roll in the dirt tells me how I should live.
Two horses tell me how I should play.
David Gallipoli
You must know how to speak to the water, but it is all to know how to listen. Listen like river listens to Agai.
-Debra Magpie Earling
Dust storms and sunsets
travels on the road out West
too short a summer
David Gallipoli
