When I was young

When I was young, I didn't know that I was beautiful,

That my smile filled my face and beamed out at everyone in sight.

My teeth were so white and my lopsided smile assured any potential

Friend, or foe, that I was not to be feared.

When I was young, I could wear form-fitting dresses on

My slim frame, this one given to me by someone who could not.

I didn't fully appreciate the gift,

The real gift, of being young, but not so young, that the world

Had become mine, parents gone, siblings at a distance, 

Established career and my own house with flowers behind me,

Lilacs that are blooming at this exact moment, ten years later,

And they still smell the same.

When I was young, I only knew what had been, and now I only

Know what was, and only now see the beauty in my smile,

The gaze that said, "Hello! Here I am and I want to be your friend".

 

What you can find there

It is difficult to get news from poems since the title font is small

And never capitalized.

A poem is usually not found on FaceBook or the leading article in the NYT;

One never finds poems on newsstands and the poetry section at the bookstore is in the 

Back corner.

Frankly, poets are partly responsible, seeming to celebrate the most obscure and difficult to understand.

An unknown word should not prevent the falling in love with a great poem

Most of us never read poetry, our heads down, doomscrolling on our phones,

Suddenly rising, slightly out of breath and shaken, we may wonder why 

We subject ourselves to such daily trauma.  

The great poet, WC Williams, asks us to find something there,

 in poetry,

Perhaps you will find yourself there

 

I never planted you

I never planted you but you keep coming back in Spring to brighten my day.

I didn't have to ask the woodpecker to alight on the suet feeder and stare at me so intently

Or even wonder whether my brother would help me fix the dishwasher,

Because he always does

My husband cooks for me without me asking, and our dog wags her tail so hard when we

Walk out the door for our walk that I have to smile regardless of my mood.

I didn't ask for this life, but I arrived in this world and she has taught me to love

The flowers which arrive unbidden, the generosity of strangers, birdsong on a Spring morning

 

Never Forget

Never forget that you still have something to say, that you have arrived in this place

Through some sort of magical fertilization and growth, some yet more magical coupling

Of two who had blindfolds on when they signed their marriage license.

Never forget that you have not failed until you have died, and even then, you may have another 

Chance to learn about chord progressions while listening to angels.

One never knows, but never forget that today is today, and there's a chance that 

Past experiences may be cleansed in the snow which has magically transformed into 

Red and yellow tulips, ones that I never planted, but that arrived by squirrel or bird,

Never forget magic.

Or miracles.