so that we may live within the art

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