An unexpectedly delightful afternoon
After a cold and drizzly morning
The sky is blue and 
The air is warm 
You wander through Chinatown 
Past the Buddhist temples 
And the restaurants with their 
Steamed buns 
And roasted ducks hanging in the windows 
Past the high end stores on the main road
And in to the back streets 
Crowded with a myriad of knick knack stores 
Overflowing with Buddhas,
Laughing, lounging, and serene
Crystal balls 
Wooden fans 
And all kinds of novelty chopstick holders 
You see a bonsai tree with leaves of jade and
Remember Abuela. 
You think about the confluence of 
Cultures and stories and influences
That bought you here. 

The gift of
A beautiful first edition book
One hundred and thirteen years old 
Inside, an inscription from the author herself
Written in lovely flowery cursive 
To Mrs. Speed 
Within you'll find a golden ring
Of noble poet friends,
As bright a friendship
May it bring
Twixt you and me and one
who lends  
this gift in loving greeting,
and memory of our meeting. 
Helen A. Clarke 
November fourteenth, 1916 
Boston. 

In the morning
I harvested basil and chives and mint
From my little hydroponic garden
And made two batches of pesto 
In the afternoon
I stumbled upon on a park
With a tall and gracious willow tree
That looked over a community garden 
And reveled in the green

To receive words of kindness
That encourage you 
To do the thing 
And enable you to 
Keep Going

Oh that I am the luckiest 
To work on Broadway in the early afternoon
And then, later, to go to a beautiful space 
On the East Side 
For a talk with Alex Lacamoire
And learn about Broadway pits 
And programming keyboards
And being a sub musician
And feeling inspired you start heading home
But you linger a little
Because it is a truly gorgeous 
Balmy spring day 
And you don't really want to go home 
And suddenly
Your dear friend calls from Lincoln Center
"I got you a free ticket!"
And you hustle as fast as you can
And the train gods are blessedly with you -
Even when you accidentally hop on the wrong train
(Uptown E = Queens, not Manhattan!) 
And you get to see Uncle Vanya
In a new adaptation by Heidi Schreck
​(she is a genius) 
With a killer cast 
And it is moving and funny and devastating 
“I just want to be an ordinary sinner and eat noodles!” 
And you wander home 
And you think
It really is the greatest city

It was warm
But I did it!  
And the sky was
Heart-meltingly blue 

​The sweet purple of foxgloves
The gift of an infinity symbol
Poetry read aloud 
​Walking home on a warm night
When the air smells like spring. 

Dinner with chosen family
Roast pork with apricot sauce
Garlic and broccoli and
Crunchy French bread
And finishing the meal
With three kinds of ice cream

​To return to the woods for a day
And remember the promise of summer
It’s almost time to go home.

To walk through the park
And come across
A magical being
Sparkling silver in the sunlight
With greenery growing from his gigantic antlers
And colorful butterflies sitting aloft