decembrance #6

After errands in town on a rainy dark afternoon Warren and I laughed at how late it felt to be driving home. It was only 5:30 and fully dark. Once home I fed the cat and dog and headed out for a wet night walk. I had the phone flashlight but mostly I felt my way on the ground. Instead of looking I listened for the crunch of gravel and the squish of wet grass. Even when my eyes began to adjust to the darkness, I saw/felt the land differently. The nearby deer shifted; the horses in the field snorted; something else shuffled off, perhaps a possum? I know the paths. So I feel my way, looping around the property skirting the unknown and happy to be welcomed again into the dry warmth of home.

Leave the door open for the unknown, the door into the dark. That’s where the most important things come from, where you yourself came from, and where you will go.

–Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost