—Anonymous Photo
CHERRY BLOSSOMS
—Toi Derricotte, 1941
I went down to ming
le my breath
with the breath
of the cherry blossoms.
There were photographers:
Mothers arranging their
children against
gnarled old trees;
a couple, hugging,
asks a passerby
to snap them
like that,
so that their love
will always be caught
between two friendships:
ours & the friendship
of the cherry trees.
Oh Cherry,
why can’t my poems
be as beautiful?
A young woman in a fur-trimmed
coat sets a card table
with linens, candles,
a picnic basket & wine.
A father tips
a boy’s wheelchair back
so he can gaze
up at a branched
heaven.
All around us
the blossoms
flurry down
whispering,
Be patient
you have an ancient beauty.
Be patient,
you have an ancient beauty.
___________________
—Medusa, reminding you that Bill Gainer will read in Placerville today at Love Birds Coffee and Tea Co., 1390 Broadway, 1-3pm; and then this evening, 5-6pm, Straight Out Scribes perform and discuss at Conversations with Artists, the open house for the new Celebration Arts Theater, 2727 B St., in Sacramento.
