And We're Back to the Ongoing Poem Series About the Winter of 2006

February 13, 2006
A bizarre early-spring warm spell

weird but lovely
So Saturday Bill and I decided
rather than doing anything productive
to walk up to
the park of the fountain of the turtles
and sit in the sun
and read our books

So there’s the splash and sparkle of the fountain
the bare branches of the trees against the sky
all the people with their dogs and toddlers running around
and the late afternoon sunlight and shadows slanting in
gold and blue

And then there were
the bubbles and the hummingbird
Unexpected
pushing a nice normal city park afternoon
into suddenly being
like the beautiful movie version of your life
Except that it’s real
it’s all real

There really is a woman
standing blowing bubbles for her kids
for quite a long period of time
as after all why shouldn’t she?
that bob and sparkle like crazy in the sun

And there really is a hummingbird
that sits still for minutes at a time on a branch
then pops up
hovers
lands again on a different branch
Always so magical to see them sitting still
the fact that they even can do it
and that they are so wee
Which again ok why shouldn’t it?
Perfectly natural place for it to be

And yet it’s as if the whole scene
were composed
for you and for you alone
And the thing is
life does that
Does it all the time
Not with intent but just because there is
so
damn
much
Puts together
all this excessively gorgeous stuff for you every day
and doesn’t care a bit if you notice it or not


image source is here