What are you thinking about? said Blurtso. I’m thinking about Henry David Thoreau, said Harlan. What about him? said Blurtso. He said it takes infinite leisure to appreciate a single phenomenon. Really? said Blurtso. Yes, said Harlan. In that case, said Blurtso, it’s good we had a big lunch.
“Smells” – Bonny and Pablo made a pumpkin pie. I could smell it from the other side of the lake. I walked to their cabin to tell them I could smell the pie, and they offered me a slice.
“Sounds” – The echo of an axe. Pablo. I helped him stack wood in the shed behind his cabin. He said I should gather some.
“Tastes” – Thinking about eating. Me eating grass. Clouds eating colors. Sounds eating sounds and ticks eating me… even thoughts eating thoughts. Everything a big circle of eating.
“Sounds” – My breath. Panting as I propped up the walls of my shelter. I didn’t even hear the train to Concord because I was so focused on building. You can only hear what you happen to be listening to, or else the sound of building ate up the sound of the train.
“Sights”: My home in ruins. Blown to the ground by last night’s storm. No more cracks where the wind made noise. No more shade. No shelter. Just a heap of boards. And the wet ground.
“Sights”: Sunshine through the clouds. Silver drops on the leaves and ground. Wet tree bark. Mud and bits of leaves on my hooves and ankles. Patches of blue spilled on the lake.
“Sights” – Lots of trees. More trees. Sunlight through the trees. Shadows of the trees. Sometimes the shadows are blown around by the wind, but are never completely blown away.
“Sights” – Many trees. A lot of last year’s leaves. And oh yes, I saw a bug that might have been a deer tick. But since I’ve never seen a deer tick, I can’t be sure. I suppose you can’t be sure about something until you can.