Sunrise 11/11/23
The Northern Pacific Kennewick-Pasco Bridge
Article voiceover
A windy morning on the river. I walk the wind of the cable bridge from the Pasco side out over the water. My back to the wind, I face the east, looking out at the old railroad bridge, a vestige of the colonial invasion that started with Lewis and Clark and continues apace with housing developments springing up in the desert where I make my rounds with fast food deliveries to white folks and brown folks and gray ones in the dim light. I handed a fiver to a young man with a cardboard sign I didn't read who told me about trying to retrieve his stuff from the sheriff and not having much luck. Good luck, I said, and: I love you. I surprised myself saying that and I wonder if he, too, was surprised or shocked by my reflexive expression of some kind of kindness as I continued on my way to this sunrise so shockingly gorgeous in the wind.
To me, the wind represents the passage of time with the events of history which serve as milestones marking its passing. The reactions of individuals to it shows importance of it. (I comment on these poems for my benefit because it helps me focus my attention. I am learning in the process which I only had a couple of literature classes way back in college in the early eighties.
Stunning pictures. Also a beautiful poem and I want to try saying 'I love you' to a person who doesn't expect it. What would this feel like? Is it possible to start a revolution this way I wonder?