US
Finished,
almost with Fuscia
Number 54,
the lipstick we shared from Sephora.
The white case shows no brand or maker.
I just know this one is your favorite.
You carried this case
in your coat pocket
beside your keys with the high heel keychain
and in your purse, beside your checkbook.
I continue using it,
tapping the remaining sassy color
on my lips until the last dab is gone.
Talk with it on,
smile with it on,
Yours, Mine.
Wholeness
Rain drops glisten on closed petals
newly planted red tulips in
Washington Square Park.
Looking down at the soft soil
I explore ways to reintegrate
fractured parts of myself back
into wholeness.
"You are already that which you long to be."
I whisper this mantra while stepping and sliding in puddles
in my paisley galoshes.
On Macdougal Street,
I sit at Cafe Reggio, sipping my latte with almond milk.
Red is love.
"Love should make you a better, stronger,
confident, self-assured woman.
Let it do that, which is the greatest aspect of
living in the moment," my mom tells me.
I hear her. I see her in that lime green Bob Mackie trench.
"I measure all time in my life by your presence in it.
There is a 'before Jennifer' and an 'after Jennifer's birth.'
Your birth and the years following are marked by what
we did together: school, vacations, shopping expeditions and
never-ending conversations."
"Time and place are united by the books you read to me.
You have a gorgeous skill involving oral readings whether
it is your work, my work or sharing words aloud with others.
The news, poetry, books, stories, articles. Many individuals
cannot do what you can do. Take some time to ponder
that for your future."
I ponder time.
"Don't you agree that time and place work together in our lives?
I love it. Like dance partners, they waltz on a polished stage
and our steps move forward into a glorious tomorrow!
Oh, I love you, Hobo Harmon! Have I mentioned lately
how proud of you I am? Take my loving thoughts
and hopes everywhere!"