Free Write

It’s been awhile since I just wrote freely. Free to say anything or nothing. No prompts or forms or intentions.

I’m sitting in the garden, but the weather has changed. It turned from high-summer to mid-autumn directly here overnight, but autumn is my favorite season so no complaints from me. I love the brisk air. There isn’t really a “leaf-season” here, but I can’t help recall the vibrant colors of falling leaves from my childhood home in Vermont. I didn’t always appreciate living in a rural environment. It felt lonely at times. But I always loved listening to the crunch of the colorful leafy mural underfoot while walking along the paths. Such beauty this world has to offer. And then there were those first freezing nights that would provide thinly frozen-over puddles to crackle beneath my soles. Ah. Comfort food for the ears.

In Shanghai, the sounds of the city are ever present. Even in the relative suburban area where I live, there is the cars passing by just on the other side of the garden wall. The train in the background. The planes overhead. They often fade beyond my direct awareness, but my phone reminds me that the ambient noise levels are “high”. And when I do get the chance to escape into nature…the quiet is absolutely delightful.

I first came to Shanghai in 1996 via Japan. I met my wife-to-be in Japan six months earlier and chased her home to Shanghai. I was a foolish 22-year old boy. Now I’m a foolish 49-year old. But even fools sometimes make good decisions. In 1996, Shanghai was a booming construction zone. If you left the windows open for any length of time you would have a centimeter of construction dust on the window sill. Having grown up in Vermont and gone to college in upstate NY it was quite a shock to my not-quite virgin lungs (I did experiment a bit during high-school so I can’t claim to have pristine lungs, but they certainly weren’t ready for such an onslaught). I remember landing in Shanghai and feeling like I’d travelled into a parallel universe where everything was more modern then anything I’d ever known but in a dystopian cloud of dust. Mostly I just felt foreign. And I wasn’t sure the air in on this part of the planet would sustain my type of life form. I’m grateful that the air quality has dramatically improved these last several years, but I can’t say I feel any less foreign here. It’s not a bad feeling, but its pervasive and always there in the background. Kinda like the sounds of the city.

The pace of change and modern conveniences of Shanghai are intoxicating. Forgot garlic for the dish your cooking? There is an app for that – fresh garlic will be at your door within half an hour. They are building metros faster then the US builds roads. Shanghai already has the longest metro system in the world. They just announced a new line extension with a stop not more then 15-minutes walk from my house which will completely transform the area. It will be done in a couple of years. Adding to the background sounds of my garden, I guess.

Ever been to Shanghai? Never? Share your experiences. Share your questions. Let’s chat.

Be well,

Monty

• It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)
  I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! It’s complicated – click link and see prompt for April 5th. I followed the prompt loosely. napowrimo.net It’s Complicated BreakingContinue reading “It’s Complicated (2025 NaPoWriMo #5)”
• Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)
  I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem about living with a piece of art. napowrimo.net Drawn He drew me with everlasting lovingkindness,The only loveContinue reading “Drawn (2025 NaPoWriMo #4)”
• Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)
  I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that obliquely explains why you are a poet and not some other kind of artist napowrimo.net LicensedContinue reading “Licensed to Poet (2025 NaPoWriMo #3)”
• Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)
  I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Write a poem that directly addresses someone, and that includes a made-up word, an odd/unusual simile, a statement of “fact,”Continue reading “Dear Me (2025 NaPoWriMo #2)”
• Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)
  I’m celebrating National Poetry Month! Today, we challenge you to take inspiration from this glossary of musical terms, or this glossary of art terminology, and write aContinue reading “Moto (2025 NaPoWriMo #1)”
• The Portrait (2025 NaPoWriMo #0)
  I’m a bit late, but that is not going to stop me from celebrating National Poetry Month! Pen a portrait poem of your own. ItContinue reading “The Portrait (2025 NaPoWriMo #0)”
• Adding My Light to the Sum of the Light
  Be well, Monty
• As Time Dances Along
  East bleeds west,As time dances along,Urging the day forward. Be well, Monty
• Sitting in the Dark
  The lights burnt out,Darkness cast across a nation broken,Lit only by fiery wrath and ire,Graffiti hate betraying fear,He watches from his Oval Office,Admiring the powerContinue reading “Sitting in the Dark”
• I’ll Be Ok
  I fell down, hard. First tripped up by my own feet, I’d lost my balance. Then they saw their chance and pushed me. Slammed meContinue reading “I’ll Be Ok”
• Burning Slow
  I’m slow to anger, how biblical of me! But the truth is I burn low and slow and resentfully. You won’t catch me shouting loud.Continue reading “Burning Slow”
• Re-reading Monty
  They claim to be my words, but I’ve no memory;They seem too deep, too wise, beyond me,Yet there they are, on the page,With a typoContinue reading “Re-reading Monty”
• An Act of Love
  She ripped a page out of my book, literally.Tore the page right out of it,Transforming words undercover into an act of love,A passionate invitation toContinue reading “An Act of Love”
• Textures
  Be well, Monty
• Psych 101
  A mystery, a silent roar,Boiled down to an atmospheric essence,Unlimited in a formless dress;The girl from Baylor Hall. Be well, Monty
• Boing!
  Be well, Monty
• Another Absurdity
  Up the bean-stalk he climbed,Exposed arse whistling in the wind(the score to some old sitcom frombefore all the screens turned blue),He was compensating for theContinue reading “Another Absurdity”
• Explicit Absurdity
  Hydrogen uppers gaslight me into obsolescence,Escaping gravity, wound-up, and ready to bounceAn engineer’s failed experiment in abstinence,A human bot,Go ahead and tariff me – what’sContinue reading “Explicit Absurdity”
• Poof!
  Be well, Monty
• The Dancer
  Be well, Monty
• A “Selfie” Portrait
  Be well, Monty
• And There it Was
  A simple request. An ask to take the decision out of my hands. To be open to receive. That’s all it took. It wasn’t longContinue reading “And There it Was”
• A Return to Patterns
  Be well, Monty
• Poetry in Motion
  Be well, Monty
• A Simple Joy
  The citrus spritz bloomed,Awakening my senses,A simple, wondrous joy,The sweet scent from a bitter rind,Perhaps a lesson there. Be well, Monty
• A Life Being Lived
  I’ve been retracing my steps all morning. Not deep into the past, but shallow moves forward followed by equal measures backward. Stuck in a reciprocatingContinue reading “A Life Being Lived”
• The Visitor
  He chatters away downstairs, the sound carrying upward as he tells a story in a rush, interrupted only by the laughter of a captive audienceContinue reading “The Visitor”
• Seasons of the Sun
  Be well, Monty
• A Gray Day
  Finally a gray day,All those expansive bluesWere wearing me down,As if compelling me to good humor,Trying to get me to forget it’s still mid-winter. WellContinue reading “A Gray Day”
• An Evening’s Inventory
  The dog lays flat out as if to emphasize the basis of the saying “dog-tired”. The TV chatters in Chinese in the background, almost quietContinue reading “An Evening’s Inventory”
• Firework Extractions
  Be well, Monty