TODAY'S POEM

DAYS OF PROPRIETY

(about Bernice D., 61, Blessings, CT)

These days,

she sees propriety in all things.

She sees squirrels

crossing the stone wall beside her house

in a completely correct manner,

and there’s courtesy

in the way trees bow in breezes.

If it’s raining, even heavily,

she loves that the rain falls with formality,

politely leaving its drops

just where they land.

The furnace,

now that fall is here,

always clicks on with civility,

sharing its enthusiasm with decorum,

and her laptop lies in her lap

in a perfectly proper way.

Even her cancer somehow seems respectful,

shining inside her

in the exactly correct way

that cancer must shine. 

* * * * *

This morning I awoke around 5:00, snuggled with Cia for a few minutes, and then made some tea and sat in the sunroom for a dawn meditation. For as long as I can remember, I have loved the very early morning, a time when life seems so new and fresh, a good time to welcome an adventurous new day.

We went to the Y after breakfast, where I worked on a recumbent bike that also has arm pedals -- a good way to give most of my body a fair workout without doing any more damage to my lower back. I enjoyed cruising along with my arms and legs while listening to some wise and helpful spiritual words.

Cia has been such a wonderful care-giver for me in these last weeks of my painful struggles with back and leg issues. She is right there , always, ready to help in any way. It's a blessing for me, like steady sunshine night and day.

After lunch, we both settled down, me in the lazy boy and Cia on the couch nearby, to do some reading of Jill Lepore's new history of the US, These Truths. So far, it seems to be a brilliant piece of research and writing. I find myself re-reading sentences and paragraphs, just to fully capture the beauty of the writing. Once again, we're reading a great book side by side.

Today, we finished our latest jigsaw puzzle -- a real beauty. I put the last piece in around 4:00, and two happy old folks smiled.

Just before finishing ....