I Remember the City
Not for fried eggs
and andouille sausage at Mother’s
not for the palmist at Jackson Square
who declared our life lines identical
not for our sore feet or the humidity
or the slow stride of the Mississippi.
I remember the city for The Famous Door
at the corner of Bourbon and Conti:
You were wearing a green dress
and you were dancing
with a boy you’d just met,
smiling the way a girl smiles
before she believes in hurricanes
or experiences rising water,
before she knows how completely
everything changes once levees are breached,
how a decade of friendship is not the first
thing lost, but the one
that swells after the waters recede –
the door that sticks,
the mold that makes a garden of the ceiling
and the boy not quite a memory.
- Irene Latham
Ever lost a friend to something that seemed to come out of nowhere? Sigh. It happens.
"Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out."
- Oliver Wendell Holmes
Irene,
ReplyDeleteIs that what this poem is about? A lost friendship? When I first became ill, I am sorry to say that many of my friends drifted away. I was confused and hurt and angry, but I have since made absolute peace with it. And you know what, two of those women have since reentered my life, one by her doing and another, by mine. The first friend was someone I was very close to for over 17 years, until I realized that I provided the major support for the relationship. Truthfully, I had to back away from her. The second one, I also knew for about 15 years, and then she became irritated when I would have to "cancel" plans because of my unpredictable illness. A couple of months ago, I decided to call her out of the blue, and I found out that she is in the midst of a very ugly divorce. I guess I reentered her life at a point when she really needed me to. Timing can be everything.
So, I must tell you that after you talked about Twilight, I went out and bought it. Not only did I finish it in three days, but I am now half way through New Moon! I am also very "cool" amongst my daughter's friends because I am reading the series. Now my girls want to read it! Fun stuff and not too scary for me:) Have you finished the first book yet?
Have a wonderful visit with your lovely sister! I envy you guys! What a special gift you have in each other.
Love,
Debbie