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Day 131: Poetry and Pho

Beef broth with veggies, tofu, shrimp and rice noodels at Pho Dalat, Portland, Oregon

Taking a break at one of my favorite Pho restaurants. This one is in the Hawthorne neighborhood, where I am teaching today.  I stopped briefly at the library and picked up a book of poems: "Good Poems" selected by Garrison Keillor.

I opened the book to this one:

“At least

I want to get up early one more morning,
before sunrise. Before the birds, even.
I want to throw cold water on my face
and be at my work table
when the sky lightens and smoke
begins to rise from the chimneys
of the other houses.
I want to see the waves break
on this rocky beach, not just hear them
break as I did in my sleep.
I want to see again the ships
that pass through the Strait from every
seafaring country in the world -
old, dirty freighters just barely moving along,
and the swift new cargo vessels
painted every color under the sun
that cut the water as they pass.
I want to keep an eye out for them.
And for the little boat that plies
the water between the ships
and the pilot station near the lighthouse.
I want to see them take a man off the ship
and put another one up on board.
I want to spend the day watching this happen
and reach my own conclusions.
I hate to seem greedy - I have so much
to be thankful for already.
But I want to get up early one more morning, at least.
And go to my place with some coffee and wait.
Just wait, to see what's going to happen.”

 
It must be fate.  I know what would really get me on track would be to wake up early. Tomorrow! :)
 
Happy Thursday! :) 

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