Summer in the City

The "Portlandia" statue was one of many wonders Moxie & I encountered on our reconnaissance mission to Portland today. She (the statue) is the second-largest copper repoussé (that's "hammered copper," roughly) statue in the country (number one being Lady Liberty).

We spent only a couple of hours in the "City of Roses," but my, oh my, we were impressed. It's a real, live city, complete with excellent retail, restaurants, and more ground than we could hope to cover in a day. But it has a funky vibe, embracing vegetarians, dogs, Goodwill shoppers (there's a second-hand store just blocks from Nordstrom), and even geeks (the largest independent bookstore in the world resides here).

As usual, Moxie made lots of friends on this sojourn, starting with a male malamute right out of the car. Moxie just loves cities. She walked the whole thing with the low-crouching, ears-back, tail wagging saunter she does when she's really happy. People ooh-d and aah-d at her appropriately, and this very small human even made acquaintance. (Note that's not a muzzle on her nose; it's a halti, a leash-training device.)

There's a poem by Ronald Talney on a plaque that accompanies "Portlandia:"
She kneels down
and from the quietness
of copper
reaches out.
We take that stillness
into ourselves
and somewhere
deep in the earth
our breath
becomes her city.
If she could speak
this is what
she would say:
Follow that breath.
Home is the journey we make.
This is how the world
knows where we are.
I've never much understood poetry, but I certainly won't forget where Portland is. Moxie and I plan to return.