Saturday, May 18, 2024

making eye contact with a stranger on the path

i accidentally
made eye contact with someone on the path
the other day.
it was all blue
skies with a nice breeze,
a pleasant walk to the lake.
i nodded to a woman
and said,
good morning.
she screamed
and ran,
tripping and falling,
ripping her yoga pants,
then got back up and sprinted
away.
i said, hey, hey, i'm
sorry.
i shouldn't have run after her,
but i wanted to
tell her that i was new
in the area,
and didn't know it was wrong
to say hello
to people, strangers, when
walking
through the woods.
she had
pepper spray
and knew tai kwon do,
a newly minted yellow belt,
i presume.
she took a stance and made
a loud screeching
bird like noise.
she held the pepper spray
in the air
and warned me not to get
any closer.
thankfully i was able
to get away,
dashing into the woods
and circling
back home.

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