07 August 2014

Another walk in the woods

I walked in the woods again today — there was a path of dry dirt... and I noticed that, wherever there was moisture, the dirt was more like mud...

Fearful weeds

The second thing I noticed was that parts of this dry dirt path had been overgrown with tall weeds... and what I mean by TALL is that they often reached up past the cuff of my pant leg...

The First Person I Met

The first person I met on the path was a man who was wearing a white hat... and his hat had a train on the back of it (I'm probably using the wrong word to describe this feature — I mean to refer to the part of a bride's wedding gown that is called the "train")

Dogs

...& this man also had two dogs, which, when I passed on the path (for they were loitering there), he used a whistle to regroup...

One dog had fine white fur, and one had fine black fur (I mention the dogs in the order that I encountered them)... but these creatures did not heed the sound of the man's whistle — they continued foraging in the woods, perhaps looking for chipmunks or smelling various exotic scents that do not exist in their master's abode...

Swamped!!!

I walked in the woods until I came to a bend in the path... and this bend was swamped, by which I mean that it was covered in water... and there was no telling how deep the water was... so, if I wanted to continue traveling in the same direction, I would have been forced to enter into the thick of the woods (off the beaten path) and climb onto trees to circumvent the terrors of drowning...

Retreat & LOST

So I turned back in cowardice and retraced my steps... I mean, I assumed that I was retracing my steps... but I did not end up at the place where I intended to be — I found myself leaving the woods at an unfamiliar exit...

We Meet Again

But now something strange happened... Upon departing the woods, I met the same man who was loitering at the beginning of my journey... he had his two dogs, white and black; and he asked me: "How was your walk?"

And I answered: "It was good — but a part of the path was flooded, so I turned back in fear!"

And he said he was surprised that the water levels were still so high...

The End

Massacre en Corée (1951) by Pablo Picasso

P.S.

My latest paperback is now able to be rifled through on its Amazon page, by using the "Look Inside" feature... I mention this NOT to encourage purchases (for, on account of the cost of manufacturing such a sizable volume, it's priced too high) but simply to celebrate the accomplishment.

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