Anodyne
Sunday, October 03, 2004
 
Fall leaf-litter, orange and yellow scraps at the feet of the sharks smoking out in front of the pool hall.

Pale white three-quarter moon.

Blue October sky.

The Lions, Coliseum Mountain, and Mount Bishop all visible from Main and Broadway, their bare grey summits free of snow.

Once or twice a year the wind will rise, bringing the utterly clear scent of the alpine -- sun-baked heather; glacial melt -- down into the city.

Memories rise, unbidden, behind.

(Opening the swinging garage door, the big metal bolts cold on my hands. The cidery smell of Saltspring Island apples laid in boxes by the car. Outside, cold stars, dark trees, and that same sharp smell. It's October -- 1979? 1980? -- 4am, and I'm about to leave our house in West Vancouver to climb the Black Tusk with my dad)

Writing this down so I remember.

- posted by cjb @ 10:17 AM


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