Damn! What about
those birds that fly
Through the tops of the palm tree
There in front
of the neighbor’s house
Just at that moment when
The descending afternoon sun
Shines for a moment through
The layer of grey clouds
over the mountains.
How can they glint so golden
Flashing here and there
Through the dark pointed fronds?
It shouldn’t be possible
In this ordinary world
But there it is.
I saw it.
Just like that moment
When my mother,
the Ashkenazy teetotaler,
then having come to the great age
Of ninety six,
Sat opposite me in the restaurant
By the salt water
of the Pacific
On the opposite side of the huge country
From all that she had known
for that entire lifetime
On the far side of everything
The boats of the marina,
Bobbing in the pink water,
And my mother’s cheek
bathed in the warm orange light
Of the setting sun.
She had just asked,
“Can I have a sip
of that lovely white wine
you’re drinking?
It’s glowing with the light.”
And of course I said yes.
and she took the glass
offered across the table
And sipped, savoring fully
a moment
her focus within,
her head slightly tipped back
then her dark, crinkled eyes
suddenly
bright with joy.
Subsiding back into her chair,
With a smile that transformed the world
her hand still holding the glass
that had turned into a goblet of
the most exquisite chartreuse glow
Saying, “Ah!
What an incredible
burst of flavor
Just there in the middle
of my tongue!
Like the scent of lemon blossoms
and the taste of warm sun!
I never knew wine could be like that.
I will savor it forever”
Then taking in
a long breath of joy
She looked at me with
The love beyond even
that of a mother for her child
and said,
“There are still wonders
To discover every day,
something new
and extraordinary,
unexpected
Even after all these years
of living on this earth
there are things
I’ve never seen!
There’s reason to live
still another moment
to be here together.”
And perhaps
we will continue
for one more breath
Or two
Just to see.
