Eric Snare The Glen Curve past the crumbling concrete ice-house, ast the yellow rust-stained-white of an abandoned riding mower Past the slowly decomposing refrigerator, And take a left into the woods There is a thin grey-brown line of dirt Heading downhill through brilliant green undergrowth. Follow it as it winds Past creek and waterfall, Past roots and leaves and steeper hill. Arrive suddenly at the bottom. Everything is green, here. Green light leaks through the canopy, And the gently chumed pool is green And the shrubs are green light on green leaf And the beer bottles are green too. A cloud sits perfectly within a shard of glass. Walking with Dad As we slip down the enclased hillside path, He points at different things. “That's a Crocus,” he says, “Ang that’s a Paper-white.” “That’s a Dogwood,” he says, “And that’s a White Oak.” We pass by a lake, And he quickly hands me the binoculars, Points: “White Heron, over there!” His tones are hushed. And as he adjusts his camera, As he waits for the Heron to lift its head, I wonder who this man is, this father, ‘And why [ have waited until now to meet him.Ene 4 Apostle 1d just finished “On the Road” and laid it aside grinning, when my father’s heavy hobnailed boots came thundering up the staircase. “Joseph! Get your ass out here!” I looked at his greasy yellow work boots while he told me he'd found my report card, called me a worthless piece of shit, and wondered aloud why a son of his couldn't “get a fucking ‘A’ once in a while.” Early the next morning, I washed his sooty handprint from my face, noted the line of circular bruises where he’d grabbed my jaw. I dumped out my schoo! bag, traded Geometry for Kerouac, French for two loaves of French bread, and Health Science for a bottle of Jim Beam. [ slipped out the door and headed for the Greyhound station, planning to stow away in the undercarriage luggage rack of a bus heading West. Freedom and Adventure took on scents of diesel and worn leather suitease, and sage brush. As rounded the first comer, my stride lengthened; I could smell my new life already, pulling me forward