WEBVTT

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And so just sort of
staying with the winter,

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I guess, a two-song
winter, from the book

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that the students in
the class are reading,

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I want to read the title
piece, "The Place Where

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Clouds are Formed."

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And this, too, I see it includes
winter, of course, and then

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summer, and then
back to winter again,

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and then some things
I think that are

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sort of imaginary
about our environment

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that I just made
up as my own story.

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I want to just explain, the
third piece in this poem

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includes some individuals.

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And this is actually based on
actual events in my family,

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and it includes my father and
two of my younger sisters.

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And my father was a very quiet
man and a very stern man,

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but he always surprised
us in his own way

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with his gentleness,
especially to his children.

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And so one of the ways that
we saw this expression was

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that on a very cold--

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because sometimes it
can get very, very cold

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when it's raining and wet
and the wind is blowing,

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and you're little girls and
you have to walk about 1/4

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of a mile to the highway,
and stand there and wait

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for the school bus at 7:15 in
the morning when it's still

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dark.

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And so my father, who would have
been out at work by 4:00 AM,

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he would feel something
for us, I guess,

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and tell us that we
could sit in his truck

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and wait for the school bus.

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And the cab of his
truck would be so warm

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because the heater
would have been

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running for quite some time.

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So that's how this piece
ends, with my father and us--

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well, me and my two sisters.

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And I never remember
about my brothers.

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I think it's one
of those things.

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[LAUGHTER]

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Brothers, they have to stand
out in the rain and pretend it

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doesn't bother them.

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[LAUGHTER]

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And I think my father knew
that, and didn't invite them in.

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[LAUGHTER]

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So that's that piece,
the reference there.

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Anyway, "The Place Where
Clouds are Formed."

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"Every day, it is the same.

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He comes home.

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He tells her about it.

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As he speaks, his breath
condenses in front of his face.

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She goes about her business.

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Every now and then,
she looks over.

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She doesn't hear his voice.

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She sees the soft fog that
continues to form a halo.

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She knows he is still
talking about that place.

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He never tires of
it like she does.

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Only on summer days,
when the air is hot

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and moisture is still
a long time in coming,

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she asks him to tell
her about that place.

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She sits facing him, waiting for
the first vocalics, non-stop,

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the push of air from his lips.

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He tells her of the place
where clouds are formed.

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The cool dampness of
his voice is rich.

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Even on a dry June day,
her face beads with wetness

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as he talks directly
to her, each

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aspirated sound a gentle
burst of coolness.

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'Tell me again.

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Tell me again,' she teases.

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If he knew she
only wanted relief

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from the heat and not the
story, he would stop talking.

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He begins.

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The first time I saw the
place were clouds are formed

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was from the window of a train.

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Another time was in a mirage
in the heat outside of Tucson.

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Once he thought he saw it
in the dry light of stars.

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The place he remembers
best was when

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he saw it in the eyes
of a woman he spoke to,

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when he first noticed that she
hid it by lowering her gaze.

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Soon, she let him look freely.

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There were times when
she opened her eyes wide,

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allowing an obscured view.

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Sometimes she saw her
eyes smolder with dryness

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on a summer day.

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Other times, she was
rich with moisture.

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Clouds came in succession,
the earth shadows muted.

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'You know in 40 days and
40 nights, I was there.

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I'll be there when it
happens again,' she said,

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with a slight smile.

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Like a child, he rushed
to look into her eyes

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at every opportunity.

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If he could, he would
hang on her eye socket,

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peering inside, marveling
at her display."

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Part two.

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"An unusually cold December day,
right around Christmas, clouds,

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mist, find solace in the
canyons of the Santa Catalina

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mountains, white moisture
quietly moving amid the cactus.

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Truly, clouds, wind, and
rain are the few elements

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that can touch the
saguaro from head

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to foot, oblivious of
spines and needles.

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Rubbery hide surrounded,
soothed by elements.

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Contact triggers stored
heat of remembered summer.

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Moisture's bead rolled
forward, unstoppable.

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From the city below, we see
mist rising, mist rising."

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Part three.

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"We sit close in the
cab of the truck.

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The weather is cold,
wet outside, too messy

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to stand in waiting
for a school bus.

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My father's truck
is warm inside,

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having been at
work since 4:00 AM.

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The sound of the
engine is soothing,

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heater working to capacity.

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Inside the cab, we are silent.

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We don't need language.

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We listen to the regular
hum of the engine.

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We listen to the regular
hum of the engine, rhythm

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of the windshield wipers,
soft rain on the hood,

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aware of the cold
air surrounding

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our temporary shelter.

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We look out over
the fields where

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the fog clings to the soil.

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Every now and then, with
the back of his gloved hand,

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he wipes the windshield.

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'Is it coming yet?'

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The three of us sit
quietly, breathing clouds.

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Clouds condense as they contact
the coolness of the windows.

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My father appears to breathe
air with temperature in balance.

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He forms no clouds.

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He watches us.

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We continue to breathe
gray, soft mist, waiting

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for the school bus."