Thursday, August 19, 2010

To Burn or Not to Burn?....That is the Question

Last week I started reading old journals and letters from my first years in Yelapa. I intended to separate into piles and decide which might stay and which would go the way of a special burn. Did I really need to keep all these ramblings and letters? I managed to shred a couple...just bad memories....why keep them to remind of something sad? I laughed through most pages and some set me back a bit with hard memories and tough times...put the letters d. wrote in a folder for her...found a couple from Izzy...kept to treasure....one from Peggy M...also now gone who gave me sound advice about an old beau...amazing letters from all sorts of people...

I even found the last name of a friend I have not seen or spoken to in 32 years. I had always wondered what had become of this gentle man that crossed paths with me that first year in Yelapa. Could never find him as I thought I did not have his name..and there it was in my journal. I immediately went to FB and found 4 with his name..I asked if they had ever been to Yelapa and by sheer luck...there he was....we reconnected and I have a new old friend again. He taught me to spearfish.

Most of my poems and notes are corny or overly dramatic..here is a poem I wrote about Yelapa that first year...I was 29 and it had been raining for 3 weeks.

Nothing moves when it rains
even the sea looks calm, unable to rush against the weight of falling water.
Each tree is a dreamy vision
Each palm frond is a memory unmoving locked into position
no longer vibrant with life, no movement.

Down, down the torrents pour encasing all the living,
enveloping all with long cool fingers.
Blurred mist.

I am locked into position unable to escape my boundary
while the cats continue to demand.

Ok, if you can handle that one, I'll publish some more!