Lunch In The Park With Loren Eiseley

Today I was in a park,

by a river,

and as I approached a bench by the water,

I could hear the faint sound of a saxophone.

As I got closer,

I could hear it getting louder and louder.

I sat on my bench,

and looked to my left,

towards the music–

there was a man in front of a tree,

playing his heart out.

He was about 30 yards away from my bench.

It was peaceful

I closed my eyes

and listened.

The birds chirped and sang,

almost as if they were making music with the old man.

I could hear the paddle-boarders glide by.

One man fell off his board,

and let out a scream–

but he popped right back up.

I closed my eyes again,

and listened to the old man play–

and I listened to mother nature

play along with him.

The sun hit my skin,

warming me up like only the sun can.

I imagined

the notes from the saxophone

floating along

on the water.

The dancing musical notes flowed downstream,

fading away from me.

It was the perfect place to read Loren Eiseley ‘s

‘The Unexpected Universe’

He turns nature into poetry–

or,

maybe he interprets the poetry

that is in nature…

I’m not sure yet…

All I know

is that today’s lunch in the park was a good one,

and I’ll take the good lunches

when I can get them.

-C.H.