your kayak glides through the calm waters of the bay

your paddles silently enter and exit with precision

steady purposeful rhythm

with all the grace of a ballet dancer on water

stop paddling occasionally and glide

your silent floating platform

gifts you a perfect vantage to explore nature

sounds seem to amplify over water

the call of a bird

splashing of a leaping fish

the gentle hiss of the wind

you soon become tuned in

soak up the beauty of the lush green marsh

observe the osprey building a huge nest

watch the jellyfish float by

see the deer wandering along the edge of the tree line

study the motionless heron fishing in the shallows

be in awe of the bald eagle flying overhead

a boater passes by

the roar of his engine and the loud music blasting

disconnect him from all natural sounds

he is traveling too fast to be connected anyway

his passing wake rocks you gently

the only evidence of him being on the water

his footprints are soon swallowed up by the bay

you paddle further along the edge of the marsh

making more marsh memories than the boater will ever know

air

still air

need new air 

blow winds blow

freshen up this stale air

bring me new air from afar

air that has touched many faces

air full of ghosts from forgotten times

air that was exhaled by giant whales in the ocean

air that kept aloft majestic eagles soaring over mountains

air that once filled hot air balloons drifting silently at sunrise

air that was used to speak the most famous speeches

air that pushed sailing ships to new discoveries

air from the first breath of a baby

mysterious air

silent air

air

I could hear the woodpecker tapping the tree

his rhythmic drumming rang through the forrest

I stealthily walked towards the noise

pausing every time he took a break from hammering

I knew he was close by when the noise got louder

struggling to get a visual location on him

I searched higher in the trees and eventually spotted him

dressed in his best tuxedo outfit

sporting a ridiculous bright red mohican haircut

clinging firmly to the tree bark

jack hammering a hole into the trunk in search of a tasty grub 

all that hammering must be damaging for his woodpecker brain

he probably goes to the woodpecker doctor

complaining about persistent woodpecker headaches

the doctor lectures him about limiting his woodpecker pecking time 

no more than forty minutes a day

or you will end up with permanent woodpecker brain damage

try foraging on the ground like all the other birds

and you should give up smoking too

the woodpecker nods a fake approval as the doctor writes a woodpecker prescription

he pops a few woodpecker headache pills and flies back to a tree trunk

he spends the rest of the day hammering holes in search of a snack

then goes out drinking that evening with his woodpecker buddies

telling tall woodpecker tales of the enormous grubs he uncovered today

he rejects a woodpecker cigarette saying he has quit smoking

his woodpecker buddies make fun of him

he orders another woodpecker beer starts smoking again

the next morning he wakes up with a huge woodpecker hangover

he lays in bed smoking a woodpecker cigarette while checking his woodpecker emails

swallowing a double dose of woodpecker headache pills before flying to the nearest tree

his woodpecker brain rattles as he hammers away in search of his woodpecker breakfast

I am getting a headache just watching him