One Week Last Summer

One Week Last Summer

I stepped outside
of my little house
and stood barefoot
on a rock.

The Pacific Ocean rolled
towards me.
Across the bay
a family of seals sprawled
on the kelp
uncovered by the low tide.
A blue heron honked
overhead.

All around the house
the wild roses were blooming.
The air smelled sweet and salty
and loud with crows and bees.
My house was clean.
I had food in the fridge
for a week.
I sat outside
'til the sun went down.

That night the piano beckoned
for the first time in ten years.
My fingers found these patterns
which express what words could not.
This song poured out
while a brown bear rummaged
through my garbage cans.
The song has seven verses
constructed for the days
of that happy week.
On Thursday
the bear arrives.

Joni Mitchell