Photograph courtesy of Davide Cantelli, Unsplash

“Plaudite, amici, comedia finita est.” Ludwig van Beethoven

---

---

Looking back and waving good-bye to
Those East Coast blue velvet nights,
The Jersey Palisades, with wind-song
Pushing its way through fall foliage as
Long-lost big sis Teresa and me drive to
I don’t remember where but with the
Child’s clear sight radiant visions came
Of early residents cooking over campfire
Warming themselves in caves and tents,
Smiling at the same stars shining light on

All those giant trees, dendrochronology!
Mountains that never bow down, and
Roads that offer hard walks and unclear
Boundaries, prehistoric hand stencils
Make the eyes smile, the mind wonder
And wander on West Coast hikes, and
Those roosters fleeing my driving
Lessons in Maynard, Iowa, Professor
Dad-in-Law coaching, hard to get this
Short dark Brooklyn girl, whose speech

Odd and religion odder still, she found the
Air in San Francisco different…