Last weekend’s New York Times travel section carried a three-page article about Cape poet Mary Oliver and her walks around Provincetown, especially in the Province Lands. As I was reading, I came upon the term “pond-walker,” a great way to describe someone who prefers quiet Cape woods to the boisterous Atlantic. Sven and I pond-walk more frequently in fall and winter when the leaves crunch underfoot, than summer. Our pond of preference, Dyer, above, last October. Ms. Oliver, who lives in Provincetown, walks Blackwater Pond apprently. She has written half a dozen books of poetry. The poem quoted in the travel section was about walking at dawn and meeting a deer in the woods. Wellfleet’s great poet Marge Piercy has written similar poems about deer, spotted outside her pane-glass window. She, too, is often inspired by nature. There’s a good chance to find books by local poets like Oliver or Piercy, at the Wellfleet library's annual book sale, which will take place tomorrow morning, Sunday, behind town hall, to benefit the library, of course. This pond-walker will be there, if I can get breakfast served in time!
