Summer Solstice
seaplanes on the lake
sunlight floods our sensibilities
bare legs, short skirts
Seattle, it’s your time
Go outside and play!
Do I resemble a transition object?
My son, as a shy 5 year-old
had a transition object
BATMAN!
A 12 inch plastic replica
A boy doll gaining him safe passage
into unfamiliar territory
Batman & I are
No doubt, psychic twins
My wardrobe runs to black
& I appreciate
his Lycra fashion aesthetic
But a transition piece is temporal
A safe passage, a transitory necessity
True
I do possess
the superhero power
to protect you
black Lycra or no
my abiding affection
fierce determination,
my belief in you
will safeguard your passage
through this frightening territory
Yet, superhero powers
are not foolproof
guaranteeing safe passage
but leaving our venerable
superhero vulnerable
to heartbreak
Superheroes, generous
sometimes in an ungenerous world
heartbreak & heroes
(not the stuff action movies
are made of)
If it’s a transition object
you need
in this perilous hour
I will lend you that
12 inch boy toy
then meet you
on the other side
You’ll know me
I ‘ll be the one in black Lycra
Driving the super cool bat car
happy to see you safely delivered
& eager to kiss your face
Manhattan.
June third two thousand twelve
Temperature 72 degrees
Azure blue, an unmarred sky
Life in forward motion
Full bloom and full of possibility
Then there you were
Standing at the sidewalk
Corner of West 51st & 8th
Four suitcases announcing your departure
A yellow cab sweeping you away
Leaving Columbia, leaving New York
With Chicago waiting in the wings
Inexplicably
in the very moment you left
The wind rushed in
toppling street corner displays
whipping up skirt hems, shirttails
The sun turned her face away
Azure replaced with midnight blue
It started to rain
The city and me
Missing you
Tears and rain falling together
here on a sidewalk in midtown Manhattan
I’ll meet you in history
U.S. history, second floor
She crossed the foyer
heels tapping out
the exact measure of
her heart
a rockabilly tempo
Too fast, feeling flushed
our dancer
never made it to history
as he was waiting
for her in poetry
Taking her hand
saying hello
gracious at her apology
(late by seven minutes)
remarking he had been
in good company
surrounded by books
reaching then
for a volume
& sharing a poem
Effortlessly, unknowingly
helping her slow her pace
as she seated herself
just there, next to him
at once at ease with this man
in this place, the books
mystery, art, romance
Years from now,
the history
will show an evening
between convivial friends
starting with a poem
& bookended with a kiss
4:55 a.m.
Tuesday morning shuffle
to the boathouse
because it’s too early
for a bus
but not too late
for a mother to be of use
before he’s grown & gone
love
in an early morning drive
Love?
You need me
to spell it out?
Right.
Here’s the real deal.
Love
is my 87-year-old mother
driving three hours
in a crazy, torrential rain storm
leaving her house
within an instant
at the drop of a hat
with not a moment’s hesitation
navigating freeways
byways
anywhichways
because I said
I needed her
Love
Personified.
heartbreak
you wear it on your sleeve
the lyrics interrupt every thought
puts dead weight on the soles of your shoes
there will be no rest tonight for a weary heart
If March Madness
left you as an April Fool
& the phrase
“May Day May Day”
seems to play
on constant repeat
Take heart! Grab a flag!
On June 14th you can claim
whatever piece of emotional landscape you desire
All you need is a piece of cloth
tied to a stick
+ a photo op
And,
if Flag Day doesn’t work out
We will celebrate your independence
through blissful, easy breezy
summer vacation days
I’ll bring the sunscreen
if you’ll grab the water wings
I always loved you
always will love you
It’s just that I got scared
Schwellenangst
unusual for her
she pushed herself
to push through
to step into possibilities
less caution, less fear
more joy in variety
more living in stepping out
then she met a threshold
she couldn’t navigate
it was simply this
he loved her
& he also fell in love
with another
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