Sad Walk

-for Bob Zieff

1.

Who would have thought

             a sad walk

would lead to pozole?

2.

I could take this story

         almost anywhere—

3.

Let Time be a wide, tight spiral—

so Kierkegaard could still

be walking down the streets

of Copenhagen--  how adept he is

                 at leaping over

puddles--   It’s the sort of day when windows

must be opened--   and in the distance

             a man can be heard singing,

while someone nearby

               is tuning a piano—

It’s the sort of day when children get lost.

4.

 We speak of Kierkegaard

as we follow the movements

             in a Chinese sculpture—

glistening porcelain

blossoming with lotuses,

           Buddhas

and Barbie doll heads.

5.

Only in spring does the year feel new.

Only in spring do we begin

                to crave lemons and hyacinths—

while girls swirl by in skirts

             with lime green pleats.

6.

It’s a young man’s sadness

                      I hear—

a young man’s sadness

filled with sea air—

7.

Is Time within you,

or is it outside?

8.

I want the Atlantic Ocean

to be a part of my garden.

9.

I want to listen to violins

as I step in the water.