I suppose many people have sat and wondered, over the years, about a loved one who was not there. A father, mother, son, daughter, husband, or wife. I suppose they woke up every morning and went to bed every night with a hole in their heart. With an empty space they carried around, struggling through the day with only half of themselves still there. I suppose that’s the most common way to go through life.
What? said Blurtso. I can’t hear you over the leaves.
Just think of all the delicious silence that was here since I’ve been gone.
Someone told me there was an orchard here,
that became a field of grain,
that became a forest of pitch-pines.
I wonder what donkeys become?
Ooops!!!
I want to help, said Blurtso, but I’ve got to be honest about my abilities. Let me see, he said, I know that I’m not very good at carrying heavy objects, I tire easily and I recuperate slowly. I don’t read and I don’t write, and my hoofs are good for little more than standing on, which I prefer to avoid, if there is a patch of grass nearby. Hmmmm…. my nose is quite good for sniffing, and my ears are quite good for hearing, so I can usually hear when someone is asking someone to give them a hand with something, but of course I don’t have hands and my hoofs are good for little more than standing on, which usually isn’t much help. I’m pretty good company, I guess, if you’re someone who doesn’t move around a lot, or you just need someone to nap with. I’m quite good at that, I believe, taking naps that is. I can take a nap at almost any time and almost any place. And I must be good at other things too, but I can’t remember what they are, because I don’t have a very good memory. But I know I am happy to be of help. I’m quite sure of that. I’m very happy to be of help.
Today is Valentine’s Day… I suppose a lot of couples are celebrating, and a lot of singles are not. Some have been reminded of how fortunate they are, and others how unfortunate. But most importantly of all, the stores have sold truckloads of candy.
It’s very quiet. I can’t even hear the cars in the street. The flakes are so big that the ones near the window are a blur. I wonder how much it’s snowing at Bonny and Pablo’s cabin? It makes me happy to think of them all together, sharing a snack around the fire. I hope they have enough firewood. I’m sure they do. Bonny is good about that sort of thing. And so is Pablo. Even Ditto had a fire when I stopped by. I’ll bet the flakes are melting quickly on the lake. I’ll bet you could stray from the path and not even know. You’d have to make a new path, which wouldn’t be a path, but only a trail of wandering. When it gets dark you can’t even see the rise and fall of the land. Hmmm, it sure is quiet. I wonder how much it’s snowing at Bonny and Pablo’s cabin?
It’s a new year… I guess I’d better make a resolution. Let’s see… “this year I resolve to…” hmm… “I resolve…” hmm… what does that mean…? To be “resolved,” to be “determined,” to be “unyielding in one’s purpose,” to be “intransigent,” “inveterate,” “obdurate,” and “inflexible.” Hmm, I don’t really like that. I think being flexible is the key to happiness. Of course, flexibility implies rigidity, that is, something to be “flexible” about. Hmm… what I need is a resolution that is both rigid and flexible… I know!… “This year I resolve… to be less resolved.”
There’s always tomorrow