no more 8am waking up, dean martin really can’t stay, chestnuts stop roasting, the hallmark channel starts to countdown from 364, the radio quits playing it’s the most wonderful time of the year, dead christmas trees adorn city concrete, jimmy stewart disappears back into nostalgia, family says goodbye, credit card bills get paid, calories are cut, gym memberships rise, green & red sweaters go back into cedar chests, thank you cards are written, hot chocolate loses its luster, mistletoe romance becomes memory, new year’s resolutions begin, to do lists resurface, everyone gets a little older & 2023 says goodbye.
Tag: Health
12/13: Poetry Reading in Burlingame, California
Worker, Vagabond, Writer-All Three Are Me
and these things we do, over & over, wake up, turn off alarm, tuck sheets back in, look at face in mirror, shave on sundays, tuesdays, thursdays, cologne, two drops, deodorant, moisturizer, make black tea, you get the idea, routines, work week, commute, time spent just doing, not thinking, just doing, the opposite, no alarm, rise after the sun, brush teeth, or don’t, journey to fez, azrou, the atlas mountains, merzouga, listen to monkeys playing, wander into sahara, sandy sea, vast, empty, measure time in bus rides & adhan, watch others work, write about how busy everyone else is, take photos, try to understand, life is short, remember the dead, keep traveling from place to place, drink coffee, read a book, take a walk, meet a stranger, speak spanish, ride a moped, or sit in a room, write more & imagine, go nowhere except everywhere, pray to a god who listens, use your words, type, keep typing, life will end, but you were a witness, you were there.
How To Stop Aging
embalm right now, easy answer, but that involves not living anymore, so try again, wake up slowly, whisper, i’m young, i’m young, i’m young, buy a lighted mirror, they take away three years, get a tiktok account, do all the dances, upload your favorites, tell people you are 27, lie, pluck out gray hairs, then dye, continually dye, never let them see your roots, use facial cream in the morning, use facial cream in the evening, never go out in the sun, smile all the time, frowning is for wrinklers, constantly talk about olivia rodrigo, never talk about justin bieber, he failed, he’s old, botox is required, sleep in silk, it keeps your skin timeless, do cardio, then sauna, infrared, never ski, the cold makes lines in your face, never wear glasses, never drink, but if you must, one white claw with a college student, marry someone twenty years younger than you, wear the brands that they wear, ideally only lululemon, don’t forget vinyasa yoga, anything else is for the elderly, drink water, lots of water, drive a jeep wrangler, play your music loud, post everything on instagram, that way you have proof.
Cold Water Swimming
thought about buying a wetsuit, but after research and experimentation i’ve come to learn that i can swim/tread water all winter in northern california without a wetsuit, my max so far is 20 minutes, i’m going to do at least that much into november, december, and beyond, after a full day of teaching, then helping my kids with homework, and cleaning dinner dishes, there is something cathartic about gazing at a full moon in the night sky, listening to an owl hooting, while gentle water undulates all around me, numbing my injured back, big breath in, big breath out, i feel my heart, alive, all of me.
How To Use A Microwave
first, only eat food raw, ideally just vegetables, fruits, nuts, that hot box will give you cancer, but if you must use it, push more than one button, the beeping sounds are soothing, if it says poke holes, stab with a fork, the plastic will succumb, if frozen, stare at what you will soon eat, looks like frozen february mud, mud is dirt, remember what your camp counselor said, god made dirt and dirt don’t hurt, enjoy the microwave glow, better than a sunset, hawaii on a kitchen counter, when it stops, rapidly consume, that is the whole point, life needs to be done quickly.
Green Tea
matcha, genmaicha, sencha, bancha, kabusecha, tencha, all of the cha’s, and the list goes on and on, and you thought it was just trader’s joe’s moroccan mint, cardboard box, bits of green wrapped in plastic squares, no, the earth offers more, from india, china, new zealand, sri lanka, south carolina, taiwan, bangladesh, hawaii, fields with leafy bursts of light caffeine, subtle, translucent hot water, in a glass, a mug, on lips through throat into stomach, mind alert with awareness of dirt, warm humid rain, lots of rain, to create moments of wonder, sipping stillness.
Bananas
i’ve seen you in el oro ecuadorian plantation encased in plastic, no beauty in bunches of wrappers strewn on earth underneath, because profit is everything, exports to united states & european union, consumers pull back yellow peels, reveal that white, sweet appetite for mixing with peanut butter or in milky cereal, loved for potassium, fluid balance, lower blood pressure, means we won’t die, not from eating this soft south american wunderkind, edible prodigy, machete hacked plant, cherished comestible.
Here Comes The Pool
Amigos de las Americas
Amigos de las Americas had a tremendous impact on my life. I worked with the nonprofit as a Volunteer in Azuay, Ecuador (1990), in Lempira, Honduras as a Field Supervisor (1993), as an Assistant Project Director in El Oro, Ecuador (1996), and as a Project Director in Villarrica, Paraguay (1998).
Daniel W. Polk 