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# Can You?
- URL: https://dianaludwick.com/can-you/
- Published: 2026-04-29T17:53:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:09:07.000Z
- Description: “Can You?,” a universal recognition of a mom who is just looking for one minute of peace on a family trip. Written April 29, poem 119 in a series of 365 poems written by Diana Ludwick in 2026. Photo, "Can You Gimme a Minute?" by Diana Ludwick (c) 2026.
- Author: Diana Ludwick
- Tags: 2026 Poetry Challenge, Generational, Humor, Poems, Short-form Musings, April, Aura, Camera, Can You Gimme A Minute?, Distraction, Family, Family Outing, meditation, Mom, Mother - Family Dynamics, Nature, Noise, parenting, relationships, River, #Migrated-1792872215677, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-10-24 20:03

I notice a human form  
a woman, sitting serenely,   
alone and glorious,   
basking in the river basin   
perched on a grand boulder.  
  
Her gaze is forward  
looking up and out.  
Around her, an almost   
visible aura of calm.  
  
So striking, to me,   
that I lift my camera  
to capture the essence of  
her oneness with nature.  
  
Next, I see a rustling   
at my right periphery,   
at water's edge.  
More humans;   
they noisily summon her.  
Her family, I take it.  
  
She stirs, startled.  
She tilts her head  
towards the commotion.  
  
Scrambling to her feet,  
she's now standing   
on a jutting rock  
in the middle of a river   
between two islands.  
  
Her back, tall and straight,  
yet her chest rises and falls  
deeply, with emphasis.  
  
As a mom, I already know.  
This is preparation.  
She's gathering   
her Outdoor Voice.  
  
Now she turns to them,   
the ones calling out to her.  
She returns words their way,  
albeit lost to me in the wind.  
  
Her stance is universal, though.  
As is what she's surely shouted   
over the roar of white waters  
back to her crew:  
  
"Can you just ***gimme*** a minute?!"