Keeping myself from lazing about has been particularly hard during this bout with the African flu/cold, it’s mighty tempting to just vegetate in front of the TV or sleep the day away. Lately I’ve been rather un-diligent in my attendance to mass this week, it seems as though every now and then a “sickness” of lethargy will descend (usually accompanying some actual sickness) and I’ll end up feeling despondently sluggish. I have to make sure when I experience these episodes of melancholy, that above all I keep up my prayers and attendance, otherwise I fear sloth might slowly creep in. At dinner there was a rather special item on the menu, mini plums. I never expected that I would come across these delectable fruits in the middle of Ethiopia (let alone Gambella), so can imagine how pleasantly surprised I was.
Day 156, Jan 14, Fri, 93.2°F @ 2:30pm,
I tried to access the internet today so I could post my blog and answer emails, but there was no connection whatsoever! So I basically spent most of the day waiting around to see if the internet would become accessible at some point. I did a couple tasks while I was waiting, assessing the chronicle (I had somewhat neglected it during these past two months), and I also continued the Gambella report, I wasn’t able to finish it in time for the new year, but the Salesian lay missioners will possibly be having a meeting in February, so hopefully I will be able to at least get a proper outline done. I was able to access the internet for about 20 minutes at around 2:30pm, just enough time to check and send a couple emails before the connection went comatose. While I was waiting for the second time for the internet, I chatted with Surafle and Bayu about my hometown o’ Buckley, as well as a little bit of church history. I got so immersed into our conversation that before I knew it 6:20 had rolled around. I was able to barrow the internet CDMA as well as the office computer (for some reason the CDMA docent work with my comp, go figure), and later on this evening was able to connect and upload most of what I wanted (Facebook wasn’t working, and my address book was goin’ on the fritz and I wasn’t able to specifically send emails, only reply to them, lol). There was absolutely no power again tonight (Not even generator power, dinner was by flashlight) so I was a bit strapped for things to do, so once my computer ran out of juice, I read a chapter of my book (“The man who knew too much”) and tried to go to sleep at 10:00pm, with an emphasis on the “tried” because I ended up tossing and turning until around 1:00am, much blarg.
It has just occurred to me that I have not included any Marian prayers, so I shall rectify this travesty immediately with one of my favorites:
A morning and evening dedication to Mary.
(At the + sign, make the sign of the cross over the specific bodily component)
Mary, my Queen and my Mother!
I give myself entirely to you, and to show my devotion to you, I consecrate to you this day my +Mind, my +Eyes, my +Mouth, my +Heart, my +Hands, and my +Whole Body, without reservation. Wherefore, good Mother, as I am yours, keep me and guard me as your property and possession, keep free from all harm, especially that of sin, so that one day I might join the heavenly saints in singing your Sons praises! Amen.
Day 157, Jan 15, Sat, 94.1 @ 3:21pm,
The electricity was spotty at best today, but when there was power I performed a writing task for Abba Larcher, I typed up a welcome speech he had written for the Provincials visit tomorrow, which of course required much traveling back and forth between Abba and the computer as he is very particular about the details. Abba Fillipo returned from Italy today and we invited him to dine with us this evening. He arrived bearing gifts from his vacation, salami and pancetta, still fresh from whichever village he had purchased it at. As I was munching away at a piece of salami sandwiched between two halves of bread and accompanied by a slice of cheese, I couldn’t help but feel somewhat bad about my lack of appreciation towards my meals here. Sure it’s basically the same food Items 90% of the time, and yes it seems as though I somehow seem to get some sort of food related infirmity from it at least once or twice a month. Still, I have been very privileged, as there is always that 10% percent of the time when there are “goodies” and my diet is for the most part far healthier than your average worker of Gambella, so I should really count my blessings. This evening I tried to access the internet again, but with no luck, it seems as though the provider itself is down, drats.
Day 158, Jan 16, Sun, 93°F @ 3:00pm,
After mass I chilled until 3:00pm, which is when the Provincial of the Salesians in Ethiopia, Abba Gennaro, arrived. When I first heard his name I assumed that he was from Italy, but to my surprise he turned out to be from the Philippines. Even more surprising then that though, was the fact that I had actually met with him before, He was in Addis when visited so many months ago. I hadn’t remembered his name, but I recognized his face instantly, which might have to do with the fact that the face belongs to an aging Asian man who works in Africa, which is rather unforgettable. We had an official welcoming party for Abba Gennaro a little later this day after he had settled in, which was attended by the entire student body of the primary school (which is always chaotically exciting when you get that many children in an enclosed place). The ceremony featured several dances and songs, as well as the welcoming speech that I had copied for Abba Larcher, which was read by a student. The Provincial then took some time to speak to the students about responsibility and respecting their teachers and parents, after which the ceremony ended, as always, with the dispensing of biscuits. Again no power today, so after dinner (Which the Provincial joined us for) I stayed up until the batteries in my computer gave out (still no internet, or even a phone line for that matter) and retired, this time I was able to get a good night’s sleep though.
Day 159, Jan 17, Mon, 91.8°F @ 3:12,
Today was one of the best Mondays that I have had here, not because something really spectacular happened, but because nothing entirely out of the ordinary happened. My routine is finally starting to iron out and become efficient (despite power problems). I managed to join the Salesians for morning prayers, something that I’m almost never able to wake up in time for on Mondays. English class went exceptionally well; the students had not been able to finish their book reports (big surprise there) so instead I decided to have them each flip randomly through a dictionary and pick a word, which I would then spend time explaining until the understood the word. We all enjoyed the exercise very much, and I think we will be repeating that particular project. Once the English class was over I started work on the Salesian chronicles, which mostly consisted of sorting the possible photographic candidates for each page, as well as typing up appropriate sub-comments to describe the events that are transpiring in said photos. I was only able to write out a few pages before the power failed, so I went about tiding my room until the power was reconnected, at which point I continued the chronicle until lunchtime. After our noontime repast, I spent some time reading and playin’ a game on my computer until break was over and then continued the chronicle, which had turned into a computer wide restructuring of all my 1000+ pictures and movies, a monumental task to be sure. At 4:30pm the power shut off again, so I packed up for the day and spent the remaining time until evening playing my whistle and harmonica, as well as saying a rosary. At dinner I discovered that tomorrow I would be traveling with Abba Gennaro and Abba Fillip to Nyingnyingnyong (Not sure if that is how it is supposed to be spelt, but phonetically its correct) to visit the Salesian presence there, as well as a few of the towns in the general vicinity. I really feel like today I made good use of time, I went to sleep feeling satisfied, and I am hugely anticipating tomorrow.
Day 160, Jan 18, Tue, 92.7°F @ 12:20pm, Ethiopian Epiphany,
Woke up at 6:10am sharp and attended mass at the chapel, ate a quick breakfast, stocked up on provisions for lunch, and started off on our excursion. After driving towards the outskirts of Gambella, we turned northwards and continued driving. Our journey took us through the dense forest area immediately surrounding Gambella and into the fewer tree inhabited savanna land. As we motored along the bumpy unpaved red dirt road, one could not help but notice the huge plots of scorched ground and the skeletal twisted remains of trees where the grass, small trees and other vegetation had been consumed by fire. When I inquired as to why there was so much charred land, Abba Filipo informed me that the locals set fire to the land every dry season to fertilize the land, as well as to help thin the undergrowth. The deep green and tan of the countryside intermingled with gouges of scorched black and white ash made for an interesting panorama of scenery as it flashed by outside the window of our Landcruiser.
We past several interesting land marks and towns, including a grove of trees that was proliferated with large termite mounds, a rice paddy that is overseen by a group from India, and many small Nuer (As in the Nuer tribe people) villages. We made it to Nyingnyingnyong at around 9:45am and were given a tour of the village.
(Before I go more in detail about the village, I am going to take a little bit of time and explain a little bit about the Neur people. They were a roaming nomadic cattle herding group of people, originally from Sudan, who frequently cross the border in search of grazing grounds as well as foraging opportunities. When the borders of Ethiopia and Sudan were officially drawn, many of these Nuer made their permanent homes near the Sudan border.)
About 5000 people live in the town, and is considered to be the largest of the Nuer villages in the Gambella region, and most of them live in intricately crafted grass huts, usually grouped in twos and threes. As we strode through the main part of town and into the market district, I noticed that all of the shop owners were highlanders (The people most commonly associated with Ethiopia), and I recalled some information that I had learned from Br. Endalkachew concerning it, apparently the greater part of the Nuer people seem to be unable to run businesses, as theirs is a bartering and trading culture (Theirs is also a heavily family oriented culture, and when one member of the family starts a business, the other members basically end up begging said person out of work). We also toured the Salesian compound, which is made up of a single small “cabin” which serves as both the classroom and for the moment a chapel, as well as the half completed church.
The next town on today’s expedition was Mahtar, and so after saying or goodbyes to the locals in Nyingnyingnyong, we forged onwards. The countryside on the way to mahtar was similar to what we had already experienced, what was different though, was the amount of animal life we saw. Baboons, mongoose’s, Herons, cranes (we passed quite a few small rivers, which explains the presence of water fowl) Eagles and vultures. We made it to Mahtar at around 12:00pm, and after a short welcoming ceremony by the teachers and kids (which took place in a small shack of a house that served as a meeting place as well as the chapel) we ate lunch, which was made up of canned tuna, bread, biscuits/granola bars, and wafers.
After lunch we started back towards Gambella, with one more stop on the way, the village of ileah. One the way back we encountered several herds of what I think were Kudu (A kind of Ethiopian antelope), they were all over the place. After about an hour and a half of driving we stopped at a town near to Ileah and picked up a group of choir members who would be joining us, and then continued on our way. We eventually reached a point where we turned off the main road and started on a “path” that was no more than two worn ruts in the ground leading deeper into the bush. After about 15 minutes of extremely rough travel, we finally arrived at the small rural community. Think about some of the national geographic articles that feature tribes of people living in the African jungle and that’s exactly how it looked to me. When we arrived we were welcomed warmly and were givin’ a tour of the village. The kids were literally caked head to toe in dirt and dust, as if they had not taken a bath in months and generally looked uncared for; a few of them had swollen bellies. Most of the inhabitants were dressed in cloths that were little more than rags (those that chose to wear clothes that is), and everybody lived in grass and mud huts that were grouped closely together. Once we had completed our sightseeing about the town, everybody gathered together outside the Salesian meeting shack and sang some songs, we listened to them recite some prayers, and then we gave some speeches. I was really touched by just how faithful these people are, even in the face of the challenges they faced.
Once we had finished our final speeches, we left the Choir to continue their singing with the villagers while we continued on our return trip home. We ended up reaching Gambella at around 4:30pm, and the first thing I did was take a quick shower, as I had become covered in dust from the trip (we were constantly stuck behind large delivery trucks, and the amount of dust they fling into the air is incredible, by the end of the journey my once white t-shirt had turned various shades of reddish brown) and then took a short nap, it was really strange how exhausted I felt, although I guess it does make sense when I consider how bumpy the ride was, lol, by the end of the expedition I felt as if I had gone 7 rounds with Muhammad Ali.
I really had a great time, I was able to see a side of Ethiopia that few people do, and I am hoping that I will be able to join Abba Fillipo at least once a month on his weekly trips.
Day 161, Jan 19, Wed, 91°F @ 3:00, Ethiopian celebration of the Baptism of Jesus,
We had mass like Sunday today, half way through the mass there was baptism of about 26 children, I really wish I had remembered to bring my camera, but luckily there is another baptism after Easter, so I remember to take some pictures then. After mass I bumped into Carlos, the Lay missioner from Spain, He had just returned from his vacation and had come to Gambella for the mass, it was nice to see him again. I also bumped into Barbara, the Salesian docter from Abobo, she was flying to Italy for the funeral of her husband’s father, but at the moment she was stuck in Gambella trying to get a plane ticket. During our conversation the topic computers was brought up, and she requested of me take some time and come to Abobo and look at their Patient list that was being maintained by the clinic there, apparently they are having some trouble keeping the thing updated each year, so I going to see what I can do to fix it probably next week sometime.
Since today was a holiday, there was no school, and as such, contained much free time, which I ended filling with my usual free time pastimes, reading, taking a nap, playing my computer (The power has finally came back today, Hallelujah!). The compound was unusually quiet today, I had expected to run into Br. Legesse a few times but that never happened, I found out later that there was an Oratory event that happened this afternoon, I really wish someone would have told me about it, grrr, although I guess the thought that there would be one should have crossed my mind since most holidays here in Gambella seem to feature one.
In the evening we went with the provincial and said evening prayers at St. Joseph’s church with the rest of the diocesan priests and seminarians, and after we had finished our evening spiritual entreaty we all dined together at the Bishops residence. Ah how much I relish these rare opportunities to feast with the priests, not just because the food is exquisite, but also because the conversations are so fascinating. There is always much joking and jesting, as well as a good deal of practical information that can be incredibly useful in my mission here, in fact, much of the information about Ethiopia that I have garnered has been from festive meetings such as the one that transpired this evening. The informational quality was somewhat interpersonal this evening, with much sharing of experiences, particularly from the Provincial who was the guest of honor, and also a quite outspoken individual, lol.
Day 162, Jan 20, Thu, Lower 90’s F @ 3:00pm,
I wish I was able to stay more on top of my journaling; it seems as though every time I get busy, the amount of days that I have to get caught up on increases. I managed to do some yesterday, and managed to get most of the rest today, so I should be caught up by tomorrow. Recently I have become rather partial to writing haiku’s, for me they are easier to write then full blown poems because I really have to take time to think about the poems, whereas whenever I feel a somewhat strong emotion or feeling for something, I’ll jot it down via Haiku in minutes. I figured that every Thursday I could include one, as it seems like Thursdays are usually my smallest post.
So here’s the first one, I hope you enjoy it.
~Bananas!~
Hear the monkeys howl
Fighting over who gets what
They disturb my sleep.
Day 163, Jan 21, Fri, 92.8°F @ 3:00pm,
Went to the office bright n’ early to see if it was going to be possible to access the internet today, it turned out that the internet was down…still, gargh! So I ended up staying around the office, writing in the chronicle as well as my journal, while I periodically checked to see if the internet would work. Then, to make matters worse, the electricity stopped as well, so now I was waiting with no power for the internet! Lunchtime eventually arrived (still no power I might add) so I trudged somewhat dejectedly back towards our residence. I made it to the compound just in time to bid the Provincial farewell as he was being driven to the airport, so that was a plus. After lunch, I said my midday prayers, which really helped to relieve my anxiety about the whole internet situation here, so when I went back to the office later and tried the internet and it still didn’t work, I was somewhat resigned to this development, and chalked it up as the will of God.
I had just settled down to pass the time until evening prayers when none other than the last person in the world I expected walked into my office, Jayne Feeney! It was in half shock and excitement that I greeted her, and after we stored her bags away I took her on a tour of the compound which ended with the Oratory, where I introduced her to Abba Larcher. We talked for a while about how her trip went (apparently no one showed up at the airport to pick her up, so she had to catch a ride with random strangers!), how long she would be staying (until Sunday), what she thought of Gambella so far (hot, lol), how I was doing here (lol, first thing out of her mouth was that I looked thinner), Etc. At 5:45pm I invited her to come and play some card games with Surafle, Bayu, and Br. Legesse, Bayu and Legesse ended up backing out, but we still had plenty of fun playing poker (With bottle caps for chips) and liars dice with Surafle.
Afterwards we attended evening prayer, where Abba Larcher bid Jayne to give the “goodnight” (I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned the goodnights, after we say the prayers, one of the salesian will give a short talk, which can be about how the day went, how a special event transpired, how they interpreted a gospel reading, etc.) and she talked about how her mission is going in Dilla, as well as what the general mission of the Salesian lay missioners is, I thought she covered some good points. After prayers we ate dinner, which included some special items, there was the kind of beef that I can actually eat (that won’t give me extreme intestinal crampage), Papaya (which is just “okay” in my book, I think they taste to much like squash) and mangoes (Ah, who could refuse the queen of fruits?). After the meal Jayne decided to retire early to rest up for tomorrow, while I tried to access the internet, which I had borrowed from Surafle again, but I unfortunately had no luck, so it was early to bed for me too.
Day 164, Jan 22, Sat, 93.1°F @ 4:18pm,
Woke up at 6:20am and walked to church with Jayne, it was really nice to have somebody to talk to, sometimes the walk can be a bit lonely. After mass (which seemed particularly delightful this morn) Jayne and I had a very deep and interesting 3hr conversation about our collective experiences at our respective sites and how we cope through the difficult times, and from the sounds of it, I am convinced that Gambella is one of the easier sites. Sure it’s very hot and sometimes I’m at a quandary as to what I should be doing, but the other sites have a lot of interpersonal challenges, several of the Salesians at some of the other sites are less than accepting, many of my fellow Lay missioners have been a great deal sicker then I have, and many of them have to deal with responsibilities and harassment that I don’t have to deal with, so I have really come to realize just how blessed I have been. Another topic that I was grateful to talk about was our futures. I am just shy of halfway through my mission here, and at times I can’t help but be fretful as to what the future holds, thankfully a few of my fears were put to rest with our discourse.
After our lengthy tête-à-tête, I decided that should visit Abobo so that Jayne could get a good look at the Gambella countryside, so after obtaining Abba Larchers blessing and gathering a few necessities, we set of with our driver, Teshome. It ended up being a really great excursion, (I am amazed at how quickly Jayne gets on friendly terms with the people here, 20 min into our journey and she is already cracking jokes with Teshome. It probably helps that she understands and speaks Amharic fairly decently) She really enjoyed seeing the rural areas, and were even able to meet with Carlos & Maria-Theresa while we were in Abobo. I wish we could have visited longer with them, but we had to hurry back to Gambella in time to pick up Abba Larcher at 3:00pm from his prison ministry, and there was allot of road construction in between us and there, so after a quick snack for lunch, we started off. We made it back just in time, and were even granted a special privilege, a tour of the prison (which is basically unheard of for foreigners)! It was a very efficient prison, and I wish more of the U.S.A. prisons were more like it; they keep the inmates busy here. They make various handicrafts and decorations, as well as attend school sessions and religious classes, overall top notch! And while we were there, Jayne was able to pick up some beaded bracelets and vases, which Gambella is known all across Ethiopia for making.
We returned to our compound just in time for Oratory activities, which Jayne took to like a fish in water, She was able to connect with the students in minutes what took me months, I stand in awe of her ability. Her very presence seemed to affect the kids, in such a way that even I was accepted more than I usually am. I hope that one day I might be in possession of such compassionate a persona as hers.
After oratory I showed Jayne all the pictures that I have accumulated up to now, explaining as I did the subject in the photo’s, be they place ore object, and by the time we got to the last one we had become so immersed in them that we had nearly forgotten evening prayers. After prayers and dinner we exchanged music, movies and pictures (which took awhile as I exchanged several GB’s of music and pictures, and she exchanged a vice-versa amount of movies, which included the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Booya!) after which we retired for the night, it had been a long and busy day, and I had no problem falling asleep.
Day 165, Jan 23, Sun, low 90’s F @ 3:00pm, but exceptionally muggy,
Jayne accompanied us to mass this morning, and she really enjoyed the service (from what she told me, I guess the mass in Dilla is very different, it’s only in Amharic, and there is a lot less cultural additions). After communion the driver came and told us that if Jayne wanted to make it to the airport for her 1:40pm flight, she would have to leave now to make it in time for check in, so after picking up her belongings at our compound we headed to the tourisms office in Gambella to wait for the Airport “caravan”. The group finally started, and we made it to the airport in no time at all, unfortunately, once we arrived there was a predicament, I had forgotten my passport at our compound, so the guards wouldn’t let me pass the gate, so I had to wait outside while Jayne and the driver proceeded, an incredibly stupid mistake on my part, and as a result I didn’t really get to say goodbye the way I had wanted too. After the driver dropped of fJayne at the airfield, he came back and picked me up and we were on our way back to the compound.
For the rest of the day I was in a bit of a funk, not being able to really bid Jayne farewell really sucked and it wasn’t until after she left that I really found out how much of a gift her presence to me had been. I felt very alone the rest of the evening, I hadn’t really been aware of it before now, but now it seemed as if loneliness had punched me in the face. I really appreciate all she did for me while she was here, and I’m going to try and make sure that I get and adequate email through to here the next time the internet is working.
The prayer of the day is a prayer reminding us where our true home is.
Safely Home
I am home in heaven, dear ones;
Oh, so happy and so bright!
There is perfect joy and beauty
In this everlasting light.
All the pain and grief are over,
Every restless tossing past;
I am now at peace forever,
Safely home in heaven at last.
Did you ever wonder I so calmly
Trod the valley of the shade?
Oh! But Jesus’ love illuminated
Every dark and fearful glade.
And He came Himself to meet me
In that way so hard to tread;
And with Jesus’ arm to lean on,
Could I have one doubt or dread?
Then you must not grieve so sorely,
For I love you dearly still:
Try to look beyond earths shadows,
Pray to trust your Fathers Will.
There is work still waiting for you,
So you must not idly stand;
Do it now while life remaineth-
You shall rest in Jesus’ land.
When that work is all completed,
He will gently call you home;
Oh, the rapture of that meeting,
Oh the joy to see you come!
Day 166, Jan 24, Mon, 97.1°F @ 3:38pm,
I woke up feeling much better today; the loneliness and melancholy of yesterday had passed with the rising of the sun, the forlorn illusion had been chased away with the first rays of the morning light which revealed all the companions that are a part of my life here.
I woke up just in time for the English class, where I held an introduction to book reports, unfortunately not a single person had finished their book assignment, so it was next to impossible to lecture them on how to perform the report, *Sigh containing much exasperation*, so I decided just to do another random dictionary word exercise. It really seems to me as if these students don’t have any initiative of their own. This Wednesday is going to be the last class before “winter” break, so, during the break, I think I am going to try and change my course structure to better suit the dispositions of these students. I need to get a more ordered schedule that is a bit stricter, which would hopefully help teach the students a greater sense of responsibility.
Speaking of responsibility, I think I could use some myself, lol. I’ve been feeling’ really tired of late, and it’s been somewhat hard sometimes to get up enough momentum to do the things I’m supposed to. It might have something to do with the heat, which is starting to get quite hot, but it also probably has to do with my recent acquisition of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, lol.
Day 167, Jan 25, Tue, 97°F @ 4:28pm,
Another hot day, it started relatively cool in the morning though. I woke up late this morning and had to rush to make it to Kindergarten class on time. The classes went exceptionally well today, I was able to get the 2nd and 3rd groups to come up and write words out on the chalkboard. Some of them needed help, which was fine, because all of them responded admirably and during the second break I was even able to teach a group of them the Hokey Pokey, which they all enjoyed immensely and I ended up repeating the dance five times, lol.
I returned from the sisters at around 11:45am, and accidently fell asleep until 1:00pm, when I was woken by Br. Legesse, who had noticed that my plate was still at the table. The rest of the afternoon was spent doing some catch-up work on the chronicle, its rather slow going, the hardest and most time consuming part of it is trying to find an appropriate quote to go with the theme of the particular page I am working on, preferably by Don Bosco or some other relgous figure, which means I have to spend a lot of time pouring through religious books to find one.
Day 168, Jan 26, Wed, 98.7°F @ 3:01pm,
English class really sucked today, literally one person showed up, Dak, my patience is at its wits end! Since there was only Dak today, I decided that it made no sense to do anything terribly elaborate, so I just gave him a noun exercise, checked his work once he was done (Dak is one of the more advanced students, so he passed with flying colors), and then sent him on his way so he could practice for the exams he was going to take Friday.
I had quite a bit of free time this afternoon and evening, so after working on the chronicle some, I finished up the Lord of the Rings movies. I had forgotten how good they are, moreover, I discovered that several of the themes that were covered in the movie, can be directly correlated to my mission trip, and I especially felt that the parting of the fellowship will feel similar to when I must part from my fellow Salesians, lol. I ended up finishing the last of the beef jerky today, and I’m all out of peanuts and other such crunchables, so any future cinematic observations will have to be conducted in a snack free way, lol.
Day 169, Jan 27, Thu, 100.1°F @ 3:23pm,
Holy smokes! It was 100 degrees, in the freaking shade! Hot, hot, hot, and I guess this is supposedly just a taste for what’s to come this coming April/May! Spent the day doin’ my usual, typing my blog into my computer, nothing out of the ordinary today.
It’s been kind of hard to get to sleep lately, with it being this warm, and judging by how long it took me to get used to the temperature when I initially arrived here, it’s gonna take at least a couple weeks of not sleeping well to become adjust, just dandy, lol. Actually, tonight I was somewhat lucky, it started raining at around 8:30pm, bringing with it a nice cool breeze, which really helped with the sleeping part (unfortunately, as a side effect, a large quantity of bugs fled in to my room, which was rather annoying and somewhat hindered my sleep, lol, if it’s not one thing it’s another).
~25th~
Summers sun beats down;
Cracked mud covers the walkway,
Leftovers from spring.
