| we stand amazed
hugging each other desperately
over and over
you are a young woman
and I younger still
your hair a cinnamon swirl
your eyes green
your mouth gentle
mincing our language
chewing it curiously
laughing
we had thought
we played only supporting roles
in that other life
40 years past
a play
long finished
the protagonist now dead
but surprise
it's opening night
and you and I are singing
and dancing the Can Can
catching roses in our teeth
smiling and bowing
to wild applause
giving encores
we are more alive than ever!
you speak dutch
and I see the water slide
dark by the keel of your boat
as we pass down the Amstel river
you live three dusty floors up
in an abandoned school
barbed wire atop the schoolyard wall
to keep the bad boys out or in
the brick walls outside your kitchen
plunge straight down
into the harbor
you toss your garbage
out the window
to be snatched by the gulls
I marvel at your artist's loft
mysterious, crowded
bohemian
elegant confusion
your husband's etching press
bulking huge in the middle
an unfinished drawing glimmering
on the easel
naked, a middle aged model sprawls
the light flushing over her skin
earnest students around me
I want to be an artist too
shy at 14, I work the pencil
on the rough paper
you told me where to find
Rembrandt drawings
in the hallows of the Rijksmuseum
ink marks
dense strokes
like leaves
allowing light to bloom
on the blank paper
and crocuses in spring
we never had real spring in california
life
after frozen death
purple and gold
in the timid Amsterdam grass
you were my mother's friend
I a child, watching, never close,
but intimate
anyway
now we gasp in amazement
seeing each other pop out
from behind the scenes
newly cast in leading roles
your cheek is soft
over the angle of your cheek bone
you are elegant at 75
wearing gold
your body round like before
over slim legs
ready for new adventure
I hold you in my hand,
a flower
picked 40 years ago
that did not
die!
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