SURROUNDED BY THESE TREES is about moving pains. they are painful.

SURROUNDED BY THESE TREES
I now get to worry about who is alive and who isn't and which will make good firewood and which will not and what part of this adventure became Tree Farming and why we aren't on the Mississippi right now just'strong and brown and able and nearing our goal to be the oldest canoe crazy people to ever go entirely down the Mississippi River from Source to the deep wide gulf and our only problem is water snakes that can kill you that are hopefully going into hybernation about now and we are both too strong and thin and
perfectly well to care about that and we're singing old river songs and my writings and the interviews down
the river of all the old river rats are attracting national attention right now because we are doing well going
down this here old Big Muddy and not worrying about the snow and the cold and how neither of us wants
to carry in the logs really and canoe weather is soon ending here and one of the bathrooms smells like pee
a bit on account of it's been carpeted since the late seventies and we have to paint the whole dang house
over time come to think of it and you gotta know if it's this hard pushin' flowers up outta the ground well
then I ain't goin' nosir  and lady you look right fat enough ain't it time for you to be singin' some song?....

NOT QUITE THE SAME is about how 'buying' a house this time is not like when we were young...it's harder now, and braver, probably, too...but we're less smart now as well...less able...so it must be Raw Luck that's seeing us through...yeah, must just be Luck....!

NOT QUITE THE SAME

It's not quite the same
We being older and
Not so Bright
Being Not So Hot
At Thinkin'
Energy: Slow now
Slow Down Now
Sometimes not as Afraid
As maybe Should Be
No longer Unkind
About Much
Not makin' Much Comment
Not at all
Trying to smile more often
In the face of our new-found
Dimming of Vision and Light
How we don't Hear Much
As Good as we usta'
Now we face this
Brand New Old House
It doesn't Hold Together Much
Better than we do
But Better Maybe
Than we do
I don't know
It has Trees  Lots of Trees
Good Light and Water
Close  very Close
Lakes and Trees and
Rivers and Trees and Fish
Water Every Single Where
To Hold Us when our
Senses fail
We make Mistakes
Angels must be there
Helpin' Us Out
There must be
Help from Somewhere
Because we ain't Makin' This
So Hot just on our own
We're just Holdin' On
To Each Other
Hopin' for a Few Years
Of Genuine Joy
With This Peace we've
Got Inside
Beginning Again
Where all Peace
Begins