Category: Gratitude
+ Gratitude, Nature, New Zealand, Poetry
A Walk on the Beach in the Evening
by Josie
Sun shades ripple over black ant dunes and I, cast, with earth toes spread uneven relaxed am tall and small and quiet. My hair, golden unkept electric the rogue wind calls my soul responds.
Shadow Dance
by Josie
As I nap in the currents of undiluted ocean with its vibrant sea salt cleansing my salty soul, I notice: I am taller here. Cast long, with the shadows uninterrupted by anything– my shadow is graceful and still and I wonder: what might she be thinking?
Composting
by Josie
When my body wakes me. It’s still dark. I open the window above my bed. The whispering dawn snuggles down. Down into my hair. Down into the space between me and my sleeping bag. Which I sleep in despite the closet full of sheets. The whispering dawn lifts me out. Out into my running shorts. Into my cheetah print bandana. Into my bright blue … Read More Composting
+ Austria, Bold, Gratitude, Humor, Indonesia, Living on Purpose, New Zealand, Poetry, World Perspective, writing
Half a Year Away, Away (and Happy 300!)
by Josie
Half a year has gone by since I left Kansas. I’m still learning various currency exchange rates and the metric system, so still going strong (relative phrase). Relativity is a fickle friend. If I think on some of the travelers I have met—Liz and Hadyn in Assisi, who have been backpacking the world since summer 2016, Sara in Mostar, who traveled alone for three … Read More Half a Year Away, Away (and Happy 300!)
Warmth in a Morning
by Josie
I wake up the long way this morning: my fire reflects last night’s hearth the ashes cold the glass remembers. Cold cuts grow like cast iron Sundays & I find it so easy to blink slow.
Tiny Rain
by Josie
Soft, tiny raindrops fall to kiss my skin and the whole earth tingles, like I’d fallen asleep with my arms tucked in and now they’re waking back up, like birdsong on a rowdy day reminding me the danger is gone, like this peaceful prompting from my waterproof self that I am here and listening. This tiny rain is so much more than refreshing.
Aestheticism
by Josie
I take the espresso outside and tuck myself in the corner on a wide metal seat at a small wooden table. The air about me is forest fresh, and brings hints of the rain which thumps the streets beyond this awning.
Sunlight Spotlight
by Josie
Seagulls sound like happy goats and naked babies tickle toes in the water; the first day of spring in the bones is a good day indeed for a picnic with my bare knees. The duck, with feathers slicked from quick dips looks smooth and skilled like a snake, in the water. I perch on my rock ledge wearing my wild hair listening to … Read More Sunlight Spotlight
Routine vs. Ritual
by Josie
I abhor routine. Routine makes me feel like I’m adding more and more iron reinforcement to my own cage. That I stick myself in these patterns and they hold me accountable. They take over; I must do this and then this and then this exactly this way, it’s expected of me. It’s what I’ve got to do. I find that this routine-loathing is quite … Read More Routine vs. Ritual
Weathertight
by Josie
How peculiar to be so water proof. Like eating a sandwich with only the hands; so much easier than knife and fork, than rain coat umbrella- I’ll just get messy use the restroom hand dryer. These rules we make for not ourselves. Actually I don’t recall making the rules at all.
