Kenopsia:
the atmosphere of a place that is usually bustling with people
but is now abandoned and quiet.
One hundred and six.
Campsites, that is;
with a sugar hump of dunes between
them and a freshwater sea.
March first begins claiming dibs
as fingers square-dance to ticking timers
faster than ticket nabbing to see Pearl Jam.
The first weekend in June hear the rumble
as an interstate convoy from myriad stick-built gps dots
converge on one hundred and six spots.
Camping, a term that wiffles and waffles
a spectrum, includes
pup tents to airstreams,
charcoal racks to stainless steel gas grills,
AM transistor radios to dish antennas,
hot dogs to tenderloin,
beer to beer to beer.
Inner tubes
hammocks
inflatables
bikes
coolers
bug spray
bag chairs
Waves all day, campfire smoke all night,
sleep unwanted and scarce as wildlife.
Then they pack up and a new crop arrives.
It’s deja vu summer for dazed rangers.
The end of August appears;
as the last campers look
through rearview mirrors.
Kenopsia settles in as critters return
and leaves begin to consider turning.
Townies smile: tourist season is over.
amazing to see tent campers here in December, but here they are.
I wrote this about a campground near here, the same one I walked in on Sunday. I’m sure the campers do much more than what’s listed in the poem, but that’s how I see them.
Linda Lee Lyberg is today’s host of dVerse’ Poetics. Linda says:
I am going to share with you a list of 10 words from The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, by John Koenig and a shortened version of their meaning. You are free to choose one or more (or all!) of the words to write a poem. I chose the word kenopsia.
Tao Talk 
You really conjured up that campground atmosphere so well, Lisa! I used to camp a lot when I was younger, and sometimes I miss it.
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Was I pretty close to the camping experience? I wish I knew more about it. I’d most likely be an airstream camper. Sleeping on hard tent floors or an air mattress just wouldn’t do it for me. Maybe a hammock 🙂
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You got it just right! 😃
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I have actually stayed in places like that, but only passing we were usually the odd ones staying one night and sleeping in the smallest tent… but I can see the campers as you describe them.
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I think you captured the essence of camping so well Lisa. We camped a lot when we were MUCH younger. These days, I prefer the comforts of a cozy bed. Well done!
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Thank you, Linda 🙂
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Ha! I can really SEE that all, enjoyed the read very much..great sounds in the poem…
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Thanks, Ain, I had a lot of fun writing it.
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I enjoyed this one immensely, Lisa! 😀 Gorgeous work done 💝💝
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Thank you so much, Sanaa, happy you enjoyed it 🙂
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Never went real camping in my life, but this is what I’d imagine it to be to a ‘T’. Though with my experience with RV parks, I can greatly say that the beer to beer to beer is absolutely true, along with cooking up hotdogs on the barbecue for family gatherings (which seemed like it would happen a lot). Very friendly people. There’s a river near one RV park I know of around here and people, I think, fish there and bring their boats. It seems pretty nice.
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I get the sense a good time is had by all in the campgrounds. Fresh grilled fish from the river sounds really tasty.
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I have camped away from folks in the wild, and as a family we did the parks and the large pole-tents. I preferred the solo camping, but at night, things go bump and growl.
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I can imagine solo camping could be. Good term for it. I remember camping three different times, all with groups but just overnight. It wasn’t a pleasant experience! Icy water dripping from the side of the tent if you brushed up against it and the hard dirt in a too-thin sleeping bag.
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Tent campers in December in your area – wow, that’s impressive dedication to camp life! 🙂
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Yes it is! Christian, I’m still trying to find time to get to your email. It might not happen until tomorrow.
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I enjoyed the details of the camping site during the peak of tourist season. Nature lovers and nature herself, must relieved now that its over and all is quiet again.
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Thank you, Grace, I think you’re right.
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You’ve vividly created this camping atmosphere Li.
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Thank you, Sadje 🙂 It’s nice they’ve left with their “quiet chaos” but at the same time it feels kind of empty 😦
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You’re welcome. I get your point.
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The ending made me chuckle, Lisa 😀
And I also really liked these lines in particular:
(I like Pearl Jam!)
❤
David
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Glad to get a chuckle out of you and am thrilled you’re part of the Jamily 🙂
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Yeah I loved this line too!
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Thanks! Happy you did 🙂
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this took me back a number of years. it has been a while since i slept under canvas. great read.
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Rog, happy it took you back to a fun time, thanks!
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👍
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You caught it all in one go! I prefer wild camping, or just renting a cottage, but have visited enough sites to love your description.
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Glad you have had camping experience and enjoyed the description, thank you!
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This reminds me of the parks here during lockdown. Nature is always happy to see humans leave. (K)
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Very visual, Li! It is like I am there at the campsite.
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Thanks, Punam. I may have been picking up the “afterflash effect” of the campers as I walked there on Sunday.
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Indeed, it seems so. 🙂 You are welcome.
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Nive the way food and fingers and everything else came alive as you took us on this poetic camping trip
Happy you dropped by to read mine
Much💟love
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Thank you, Gillena, glad you liked it.
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What a lovely rugged poem to read in the morning! I love the opening paragraph, the sugar hump of dunes and a freshwater sea, how it develops and then how it ends with that last line: “Townies smile: tourist season is over.” That made me chuckle 😀
I must admit when I read critters, I thought that was a reference to the campers and then I realised it was literal, ha ha!
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Thank you for reading, your wonderful comment, and I got a chuckle about the critter campers. They’re pretty tame critters, those campers 🙂
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Ha ha!! 😂
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Camping used to be a huge part of my life. Here they often just call it ‘going to the lake,’ because after the dustbowl, the Army Corps of Engineers built dozens of lakes in Oklahoma, and camping at them became a working man’s weekend holiday. Your list of verbs sums it all up perfectly, the sense of leaving the routine behind, yet bringing its comforts with you, and of course, “beer to beer to beer.” is an integral part of that celebration. Perfect exposition of the list word.
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Joy, that’s very interesting about the dustbowl and the lakes, what a relief to relax, after working hard all week, in and near the water. Thanks for reading and your comment.
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End of season — like waking from a nightmare.
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The traffic to and from is the worst part for me, as the stream never ends. They do spend quite a bit of money here so not all bad. What is also irritating is when out of state/out of country tourists snap photos of the natives if we use any of the trails near the campgrounds. Ignoring the signs and climbing dunes anyway when the sign says “don’t climb the dunes to help prevent erosion” when the stairway is less than 100 feet away is also irritating.
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I also think you nailed it. But stick with inflatable mattresses – hammocks are shifty and unreliable ~
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Good advice to know, thanks!
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I guess the wildlife are a lot quieter when they’re in residence! Great picture of the tide of holiday makers and all they bring with them.
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Thanks much, Marion 🙂
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Reminds me of my camping days, Lisa, in particular one site near Manzanita, Oregon, had those dunes between the campsite and the Pacific Ocean. All that detail really creates the scene…JIM
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Glad it brought back pleasant memories, JIM.
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