Stepping outside
my dark cave of thought
I enter the "real world",
senses jolted
like walking out of
the imaginary world
of a darkened theater
into  blinding sunlight.

The sun's enveloping heat,
Woodpecker's rat-a-tat
search for insects
on a nearby tree,
twittering songbirds
flitting  across clear skies,
purple Iris' lacy edges
beginning to turn brown,
newly budded tree branches
waving in the wind,
grass clippings
giving off their sweet scent,

And in the near distance,
sounds of other humans
going about their
daily business of living,
overlaying Nature's sounds.

A little bit of guilt
stirs beneath the surface,
chiding me gently
for the waste of a day
which others call Reality.

And I wonder,
Is my private little cave
of creativity
any less real?

Eileen Auger
5/12/14