Dinner

That's when you look into each other's eyes
and see one another, when history dances between
you across generations, and the strands of history
are visible through the haze of the Cosmos
and Tom Collins, brilliantly refracted in the
glass of white wine, who knows what kind.
and after a decadent dessert and a brisk walk
back through barely falling raindrops, you
recognize the sacred and beautiful in that time
when you looked at each other across the table,
seeing a bit more that you never saw before,
that history, that connection, that beauty.

Amanouz

tabouli, baba ganoush, pita,
mint, baklava, amanouz.
amanouz
after running, wine, naps,
sunshine, clouds rumbling
across a road crowded with
cars all trying to get to
amanouz for pita, baba
ganoush, mint, baklava.
yummy.

The man in the seat next to me on the airplane

He hogged our joint armrest, even pushing my arm into my sleeping lap.
He read Scientific American and I decided to subscribe based on articles titled,
"The Myth of Antioxidants",
"Ancient Micrometeoroids",
and the "Brains of Geniuses",
I wish I was one, how fun that would be to never have to work
very hard, ideas flooding your mind all the time, music composing
itself in your sleep, novels springing from your fingertips.

Vacation

On vacation,
I'm going to think of kangaroos with their long tails,
jumping over cars stuck in traffic jams.
Lions will chase giraffes until the giraffes realize that
they can pick up the lions, depositing them high
into branches, the lions too startled to respond.
On vacation, I will think of all the people
I know who walk like penguins,
those who are sly and tricky as foxes
and I will be glad to be away from them all.
I will glide through my vacation like a swan,
as gracefully as a dolphin frolicking in the light
blue sea.

Ugly slippers

I got them for Christmas,
red, black and white plaid slippers.
I hated them.
I knew they came from the dollar store
because no one would buy them for
more than one dollar.
That Christmas was a long time ago.
I still have the slippers and I still
think they are incredibly ugly,
but they have molded themselves
to my feet, there is even a left and
a right now, instead of both being
uncomfortably wrong.
They will probably outlive me
and my daughter will rightfully
toss them in the rubbish bin
after my funeral,
not recognizing that when all
is said and done, these are the
slippers that always found
their way onto my feet.

noana

noana banana today, no coffee, no froth,
no poems wafting off paper,  just quiet here,
just snow outside the window, a black dog sleeping,
just a basketball game, will they reach 15-0,
just a flute with a sticky key.
no walking up the  hill, no running down.
just darkness hiding behind a brilliant full moon.

Snow Biking in Frigid Weather

that red car in the background has bald tires and
is covered in snow, snow adhering to ice to windshield.
it's 19 degrees and the dog's breath hangs in the air,
her snout covered in snow, she loves the snow.
It's a snow day!  we shout, the bike, the dog and me.
Stephen hovers in his slippers on the front porch,
safely snuggled in his down coat and Deer Trail hat.
Off we go, then, no the dog can't go so she scampers
inside to resume her nap, and I head off boldly,
rather unwisely as that ice frozen under that snow
makes the going treacherous but fun!
Snow day, bike day, cold day!