8755 feet
track 9, “a waltz in the woods”
[image designed by Todd Reynolds, photography Kim Harper]
I called it flea market first
just so I wouldn’t forget it
on weekends in the summer brighton gets these vendors
knives vinyl records cutting boards freeze dried skittles clothing
the quirkiest ragtag group selling duck fat and shovels
my kids and I would hike the canyon first
then find the animals then watch the colors change
some of the best memories of my life
happened
at 8755 feet above the ocean
I’m usually the one people call
when they’re tired of holding on to it all on their own
I’ve been on both sides of that
nature is the place I go
when there’s no one to call
and I don’t want to be available
that feeling on beaches and mountain lakes
dirt trails on a mountain bike
the top of Mauna Kea
snow and fire
it’s not one specific part of the wild that’s in charge here
it’s the whole thing
trees
and mountains and rivers
they way predate us
I think about this
how conscious a tree is
what it would describe
if it could
it can’t speak
but it lives
and grows
and creates
and gives
nature just shares so much
to all of us
we don’t exist without it
track 9 is called a waltz in the woods
and it used to be called flea market
that felt right at first
and then it felt bigger than that
before I die I just wanted to say
spend time in nature
to feel it
to see it
just be there listen
hear what it wants you to know




Love the waltz vibe!
However categorized, through-composed, neo-classical, or rhapsodic, it’s unique to my playlists.