Ladies of the supermarket difficult
to be elegánte pushing a metallic cart
past the flowers, through the produce
and making an awkward turn
where dairy meets delicatessen specialty
Eyes are averted as you lean
to tear a thin plastic bag from
fat roll nestled above the cauliflower;
touching you is such embarrassment, even inadvertent
bumping of steel wheels is sudden intimacy
Yet your eyes are so compelling—
smoldering brown pacing ebony skin
piercing green shattering the calm,
yearning eyes with supple dark lashes
tumultuous blue proclaiming like open sirens
We continue to circle each other
clutching left-handed our smudged lists
careful not to block the aisles
angling for the short check-out lines,
mesmerized by cascade of cardboard, color and price
The young children are restless in their straps
so many plans and regrets haunt our steps
the open parking lot with the familiar car beckons,
pausing briefly, then rushing yet again—
these lovely ladies, splendid and nonchalant.
Dark eagle soaring
across the Sound
murmuring waves.
Unseen
Ascending to the jagged peak of Annapurna
late Sunday, January 2
amid penetrating wind and vast expanse of stars,
not even a whisper of moonlight
Chewing feverishly on coca leaves
walking the sands of the Atacama Desert
shifting panorama of active volcanoes,
not a drop of water to be found
Despite its scanning and transmission electron microscopes
generating endless images of SARS-CoV-2
actually nothing for the eyes to see,
even when pacing the aisles or passing the dinner rolls
Fresh and immediate
present wakefulness
always present, seldom recognized, is
unseen.
Comments