Ambling along Edmund Lanes

I sauntered along the silent sanitized lanes of Edmonds

canopied by the sparkling blue sky, its edges broken

by shrouding green conifers and maples.

Dainty cottages hung on either side, their neat lawns

adorned with frozen dense flowers, crotons and hedges.

The cool wind wound its way through them all

and made the trees howl at times.

Except for the crowing and chirping, the occasional

burst of the lawn mower or the hedge trimmer,

a lady darting out to collect post or walk her dog

some bunnies hopping about the lawns,

there was a haunting absence of humans

hypnotized by the TV or phone indoors.

Such a silent green manicured scene should soothe

the tumultuous grinding mind and yes

for seconds, my mind did slip into a ‘no mind’.

The dissonant contrast of my bustling tropical vapour-draped city

crossed my mind and so did the gibberish sense

of the intoxicated homeless of Seattle

living in an alternate universe

and the jarring death and destruction

in selective pockets of the world.