Click here to hear the poet read his words:
bouchon
I’m standing at a bus stop
twenty minutes from home
the reasons don’t matter
no sign of scheduled service
already long overdue
the traffic is nose to nose
mile after mile
barely moving
nothing happening
other than tempers rising
like the temperature
because mid-June at La Foux
near St Tropez
is blindingly hot
then overhead
I see the swallows
in uncountable numbers
swooping and swirling
dancing and diving
in playful pairs
and incredibly uncoordinated
but never conflicting groups
when I think that
we consider ourselves
the most advanced species
the highest level of intelligence
on planet Earth
I laugh in pure delight
at our absurd arrogance and stupidity
Sound Bite Fiction 
Can relate–GREAT poem!
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Thanks, Kate, always good to see you here
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Great poem and one I can identify with too. Touched my sadness about the state of the world just now.
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Cheer up, Lindsey, things could be worse.
So she cheered up and, sure enough, things got worse…
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It’s such a beautifully evocative poem.
I can feel the blistering heat and frustration, I can see the playful swallows…
And I’m laughing with the poet at our ‘absurd arrogance and stupidity’.
Love the laugh in the recording.
And the artwork suits perfectly.
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Phil captures the mood of the bouchon perfectly, doesn’t he!
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This is fabulous–and my fave pick is “blindingly hot”. I’ve never heard or read it put so aptly, I could almost feel the sweat breaking out on my forehead. Hope you’re keeping well 🙂
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Hello again, and thank you again!
I am very well, thank you, swimming in the morning to avid the blinding heat!
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Oh that sounds good, a cool dip–refreshing! When it heats up here I resort to cool showers and ice packs–and the loud industrial fan! 🙂 Have a great day!
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Well, Leslie, I don’t know where ‘here’ is and I’m way too scared to ask!
Swimming in the Mediterranean on the Côte d’Azur is one of the great joys of my life.
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“Here” is Seattle, WA, USA. Just the name, Cote d’Azure, is so beautiful, provokes bit of envy.
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I love Seattle! Spent a bit of time in WA, Tri-Cities, Spokane, Pullman, great people, loved it all.
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Wow, that’s great! I went to college in Pullman, WSU…a lifetime ago 🙂 Tri-cities, Spokane–east of the mountains it gets “blindingly hot”. I prefer the mostly mild weather on the west–though we did have an outrageous winter in January; and the summer prior was deadly hot. I’m probably the only one in the state who loves cloudy skies and rain, cooler temps…it’s poet’s weather 😉 The rest of the folks live for summer…while I’m sweating like a farm animal!
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‘sweating like a farm animal’! And I thought you were a lady!
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Yes, but we’re all multi-faceted…I was an impeccable lady when I was young, dreaming of a prince to rescue me 🙂 I no longer need to impress, as there are no princes. And now you probably know entirely too much about this poet 🙂 Have a wonderful day, keep well.
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