There are mountains hidden downstairs in my grandpa's country house with craggy granite boulders no bigger than a mouse. Little trees of twigs and moss hug miniature ravines, where compact wooden ... [+]
Birds, Circling, Everywhere
Matthew Hose is a writer, journalist, and teacher based in San Francisco. He can be reached at matthose372@gmail.com or on Twitter at @matt_hose. "Birds, Circling, Everything" was selected as a finalist in BART Lines contest, 2022.
Tomorrow will mark a year since I had my stroke. It's an occasion that, according to my daughter, Ginny, I should view as important. But I've spent enough time staring at death; I don't want to think about the 364 days behind me. The only thing I care about right now is the dirt track ahead of me and the fog that's just hit the tops of the eucalyptus trees.I'm leaning against a cane on the gravel track that forms a circle above the old polo field at Golden Gate Park. Ginny is swiping around on her cell phone on a bench just behind me. Around us, a dozen or so strangers walk, bike, and run arou