my eyes had not found her
in a room
for nearly twenty years
corner of the bar seated
sipping a deep plum wine
waiting for me to arrive
from our shared past
upon spying me
she leapt from her
chair
and we began to laugh
as we reached for each other
she is the same exotic beauty
i remembered
but it is the goodness of the light
in her eyes
i have always loved
it remains, but is now
tempered with the wisdom
of marriage, motherhood, business meeting, and mortgages
we agree van gogh painted this
warm bath night
for us to be outside
so the decision is made to scout out a patio table
where we may hold court
billie holiday is singing strange fruit
as we walk by
the trees along this main street
are wrapped in white lights
i smell jasmine and coffee dancing in the air
surrounded by a toy boutique,
haberdasher, a clockworks, and compounding herbalist
this quaint cobblestone village
has not forgotten its manners
we exchange notions and potions
regarding the decades elapsed
sad stories, triumphs, but we decidedly have more happiness to share than tears
we cheer for each others successes
cry for our losses
she sticks to bottled grapes, while i order intricate manhattans
our glow has become one
we share a forbidden cigarette
but in the midst of the we-don’t-want-this-night-to-end
an hour after last call
as we stand on the sidewalk
defiantly unwilling to part
still laughing too loudly
keeping the window box flowers awake
we agree
the universe is conspiring
to bring us together again
a friendship of enduring poetry
so that we may live within the art
2 replies on “so that we may live within the art”
shivers . . .
what a luscious poem, Alicia. Bravo!
Thank you very much David! It was a luscious night…