there is a playground in my mind and sometimes the swings make me sick but i enjoy the view and even the motion. i take a little ginger candy with me and wish that i am not surprised, but know i will be, and hope i try to be patient at the next downswing. the tundra looks utterly barren from afar, but the hike takes me through color festivals of wild irises, poppies, lupines, and of course, fields of poison oak. the wind blows into one ear and out the other, pushing me up and then down the steep coast. the ocean is turbulent, but it is far below. the plants are battered in the gusts. i see a quiet deer and i feel a peace though it runs away. i like to start high, then get higher, but i am also glad for an even space.