Trouble Sleeping

I read today that some artists believe ideas capture you and compel you to create something out of them, that they find you in hallways and bus stops and become a part of you. Having trouble sleeping lately and I don’t know what it is. Perhaps it’s anxiety, but maybe it’s one of these ideas. Who knows?
This past summer while working at the conservatory, I started walking in my neighborhood more frequently and ever since, there’s been this man that I pass nearly everyday. I’m unsure of his name but every time I pass by, he is there. The unique thing is that this man always has this live chicken standing next to him. The man sits at the edge of an empty field and the chicken is by his side. He never looks at me directly (the man…or the chicken for that matter), although I try to say hello every time and I must say the chicken is missing some of its feathers. There are so many missing that it is hard to see the few that are left. It’s the weirdest thing but chickens are often found crossing the road in our neighborhood and I wonder why? Not why did they cross the road but why chickens are even here, in the inner-city? It’s just one of those peculiar things that can be found in the corners of our streets here in Tampa Heights.
Needless to say my schedule has slowed down quite a bit. Recently with the extra time I have noticed balance creeping its way into my life. This is a highly unfamiliar feeling. That's to say that mostly I am producing at such a fast pace(or at least doing so much) that there is little time to process what is immediately around me. But today, as I walked, I was grateful for what I took in, for the chicken sighting and the man too. I couldn’t help but wonder if this man and his chicken had a story to tell, if they were perhaps finding me in my path and asking me to tell it.