As I sat tying my shoes I was struck looking down at the cold ground – what would life be like if I lived very close to the ground. I realized very quickly that life would be much much different. It would obviously become very simple in some ways – like pure survival and relying on your senses. But very complicated in trying not to get hurt, dodging, staying clean. There is a lot to be learned from living so close to the ground. So I submersed myself in this to try and see what I could come up with for today’s poem. Enjoy!

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Life Closer to the Ground

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What would life be like

If I were only 1 foot high

People would loom large

Skyscrapers connecting with the sky

Would I know more about the earth

The way it is created and breathes

The dirt on the ground

The wet grass and fallen leaves

I would be so dirty and covered

I am sure of this in a city

If any other

I would know more of waste

And disconnect

That everyone feels standing 6 foot

Erect

I would feel the wind blow

Under cars and around poles

Would have to stay dry

Or else I could get too cold

I would discover more about humanity

Than what I may have ever been able to see

Shoes stomping on ground

Throwing garbage around

I would encounter forgotten things

Lost keys and crumbs

All brushed under the rug

Where only I could see

Conversations would occur in the heavens

I would have to stay more connected to the ground

So close now I would not have to look down

I would rely on the land and others

To take care of me and protect me

For I would only be one foot from the ground

Feet shuffling past

People brushing their hands over grass

Gum from years ago

Some from just a second ago

I think I could really learn something

Only one foot off the ground

It is the world

I would get to know