
Ripples and reflections on the Delaware River at Red Bank Battlefield. Driftwood on the beach. ©️Merril D. Smith, 2020
Monday Morning Musings:
“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.”
–Roald Dahl
There’s magic in a flower that suddenly appears
unplanted by a human hand,

This just appeared one day in our garden one day.
standing alone or scattered
to glow, new stars, comets, meteorites that fall
leaving their imprint for a brief moment
before floating away

Delaware River at West Deptford, NJ, August 2020 ©️Merril D. Smith
on river currents, secrets of time and ghost whispers drift
on ripples

A stone toss ripple in the Delaware River. ©️Merril D. Smith 2020
endless and infinite–
light that is always there–
even if we don’t see it,
like the magic of a flower,
the evanescence of a puddle,
a world existing in a moment—

Puddle Reflection
clouds part and merge again
grey becomes blue becomes grey

Water Lilies and reflections at rain garden at West Deptford Public Library ©️Merril D. Smith 2020
a mosquito strafes your face, a lone bomber
soon joined by a squadron,
the secret out in the open and not pleasant—
but magic moments
that you stumble upon,
like a secret path
those are wondrous, grace-filled seconds–
blink and you miss the magic,

Deer Family at Red Bank Battlefield, National Park, NJ
but it will come again,
perhaps when you least expect it.
Merril’s Movie Club: We watched the movie Dear Ex (Netflix). It’s a 2018 Taiwanese movie, a domestic comedy-drama about a young man whose deceased father left his insurance benefits to his male lover. I’d give it 3 stars. It was sweet and poignant, once you get to the backstory that explains more about the characters and the secrets they kept or didn’t know about. My dad would have been 101 yesterday. I’m sure he had some secrets that we’ll never know. He did love Chinese food though, so it seems appropriate that we ate it on his birthday eve.
We’re on Season Three of Bordertown. It’s also on Netflix. My husband and I are both really enjoying this show, and we will miss these characters once we’ve finished it. There are the usual gruesome murders and cases (but the show is good at not showing the gore or graphic violence), but we come to really care about Kari Sorjonen and his family and colleagues.