August 24, 2026
Walkabouts
morning walk, norton pond road
hawkweed and white birch,
lupine and blue flag iris,
mailbox on sawhorse—
wooded trail that would have gone
unseen but for boy on bike
—dotty seiter
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2.25 x 2.25″; watercolor, pencil, and collage on paper
paper-tile unit from a living work in progress
2026
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Notes about poem and art:
• “morning walk” is another tanka, a form I don’t remember learning about until roughly a year ago and now have firmly and happily in my poetry toolbox. I totally adored my daily Norton Pond walk while on vacation—the water was in view one way or another for the duration of my stroll on this quiet wooded rural road with its lakeside camps, as New Englanders call their rustic, seasonal vacation homes that prioritize simple living, outdoor recreation, and family history.
• Popular Belief is the last of the paper-tile units in this living work in progress, a piece that has been on a long walk already, and is still walking. I sent it off to Caroline at camp with fingers crossed that it would arrive before camp ended, and it did! Now its en route to Virginia where it will stop walking and take up residence.
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8 responses to “Walkabouts”
Those morning walks beside Norton Pond were especially lovely. I think back to them often. Which is no small thing because I was challenged with left knee and ankle pain considerable enough to have me wall- and furniture-walking periodically on that vacation!
There was something very pleasing about boy on bike pointing out something I’d already missed many times over. Just the noticing itself, very pleasing.
Also pleasing that all my paper tiles navigated the USPS successfully, also no small thing!
Thank you for your affirming comments ; )
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I must admit to being just a wee bit sad that this living work in progress has come to an end! But I am looking forward to whatever you’re up to next.
unseen but for boy on bike – THIS! My husband and I often muse that the sole purpose (and soul purpose) of being human is to be a witness to the wonder of the world. That boy on his bike (and you, on your Norton Pond walks) are fulfilling a oft neglected purpose. One so heavy with bounty! xoxo
Thanks for letting me know you’re “just a wee bit sad” that the living work in progress is done, or at least done shy of anything Caroline may do with it once she returns home. I took great pleasure in documenting it bit by bit as it evolved, but I sometimes pause to wonder if followers get itchy to move on more quickly when I take that tack. Thanks for affirming that my pleasure was also yours!
And, Lola! Thank you for putting into such beautiful words what that unseen boy on bike represents. Y E S.
xoxo
Love how you weave landmarks on your walks, lets us move and try to “see” in our mind your walk. What a part of heaven to walk through trees, on a wooded path, and hear and see the sound of water. Glad the “boy on Bike” showed you the way!
Ending are also beginnings! I love how on this last piece you seem more flowing in your marks and lines! Agree with Lola…. what’s coming next!
Carol, thanks for pointing out how I weave landmarks from my walks into my poems—very helpful feedback about how those landmarks help you move through and see the walk in your mind. And, yes, walking through trees on a wooded path and seeing/hearing water, such a gift!
Endings are also beginnings—true, that!
Those morning walks were so nourishing. I still recall them often nearly three months down the road : )
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