i witnessed a devastating fire on a sunny day in March,
i heard the glass pop and the timbers fall within great plumes of suffocating black smoke–
i placed my face close to the velvet petals of a tulip and felt a cool greeting in response–
i watched a small child ride a scooter in the street and an old woman yell at him to move along, his indifference made clear in the straight position of his young shoulders–
i held a pup’s head that will grow to be larger than my own and marveled at her soft, gangling beauty–
almost too much for a lifetime, let alone, for a day

she asked me to forgive her–
but there was nothing to forgive

after taking your image,
i feared you would wither and die–
but upon turning with a final glance,
you simply smiled and waved goodbye

while strolling with the pup,
we greet the delicate forsythia like long lost friends