Made it up here before confronting needful morning conversation--got the porridge cooked and served to brother and me, fresh blueberries! affordable once again, and his banana and my huge glass filled with Sumatra coffee and cream, cats and dog fed and let out and let in again, then dashing up steps to my loftofficebed to eat and read silently in the blessed hoarfrost morning moan of gray January sky.

I took yesterday a long hike diagonally across the waste and vacant lots toward the highway out of town through the Brass Rail Trailer Park its Jesus Saves bumper stickers and satellite-dish tripods on cinderblock feet and barking guardbeasts straining at the ends of their tenuous tethers, and on past the Rim Rock Motel, to nowhere, more of it out there even than here if that can be imagined.

Wondering from time to time how it looked, grayhaired lady wandering among weeds and road trash (when in my head I'm 12 still in adolescent gawkbody and still as ever childcurious about the world).