All that I have
done:
I danced on bars
and climbed the
Pyramids at sunset,
Have kissed movie stars
and refused their further
advances,
Drank next to Keith
Richards and walked
past Mick Jagger
in the park, under snow.
I have cried deep
with relief from
finding
a twenty on the pavement,
knowing then I could
eat, but fed a homeless
man and his dogs during
the Covid lockdowns
because I had lost a home too,
a big one, and not
only
in my heart.
I went on expeditions
up the Niger River
and down the Amazon
as if it were normal
because that is how
everyone around me behaved.
I kept so many tears
and plentiful awe close
to hand, to write;
Because the Taj Mahal
is really something, at sunrise.
Love and love and
love.
I have died
while playing the role
of Cleopatra and shed
the veils of Salomé on
a New York City stage.
So I can put myself
in your shoes
or combat boots
for I have survived
treason and
bankruptcy, moral and
monetarily held.
There is nothing,
not a dime, coming in
for my retirement.
So I rub my eyes
red, dry from too
much drifting,
this breath of in-between.
A January seeming
says “look back” with
an encouragement that
leads me to books.
Look what I have
done and ready
my stretched limbs for
coming Spring.
One not for youth,
a tender time of
petals pushing,
hoping for the surprise
of blossoms, yet
expecting none.
All that I have
tried, and what I know
only I have done.
***
Wishing you all a Happy 2024,
With much love,
Heather