would guess, but what is she
saying, to the light, to the cosmos
below her, the zinnias and all?

Her gown a light
activity, imagined with
embroidery, she has stepped
out of the darkness within
the white house, leans out
from the slate blue shadow
of the roof, her dark face
glowing like a universe
felt from afar.

In the grass, where we are
walking, the dew surprises us
with its confidence, its
knowledge of music, its cool,
slow dancing, soaking our shoes.

When we look up again, she
is reaching into her pocket.
What might she bring forth?

A saint's tooth? A stone
with veins that lead us
down the path of someone’s
name across a page? A
trinket, like a star? Yes,

she is smiling at us, and
at the cosmos and all, but
what is she seeing in all that
light? And how shall we
embrace her? What
do you think she might say?

.

Tom Koontz
Humpback Barn 1998