Poem for Thursday and Cherry Blossoms Near Home

Cherry blossoms
By Toi Derricotte

I went down to
mingle my breath
with the breath
of the cherry blossoms.

There were photographers:
Mothers arranging their
children against
gnarled old trees;
a couple, hugging,
asks a passerby
to snap them
like that,
so that their love
will always be caught
between two friendships:
ours & the friendship
of the cherry trees.

Oh Cherry,
why can't my poems
be as beautiful?

A young woman in a fur-trimmed
coat sets a card table
with linens, candles,
a picnic basket & wine.
A father tips
a boy's wheelchair back
so he can gaze
up at a branched
heaven.
                     All around us
the blossoms
flurry down
whispering,

       Be patient
you have an ancient beauty.

                                           Be patient,
                                  you have an ancient beauty.

-------- 

 It rained much of Wednesday, but slowed to a drizzle by the afternoon. So after a successful morning freecycling a lifetime of cards, and organizing my father-in-law's stamp collection that's the next thing to declutter, we took a walk around various local neighborhoods with cherry blossoms, which were lovely despite the rain. After that, we stopped to get Paul the cake he wants for his birthday on Thursday.

 

Evening TV, now that I am free of The Masked Singer thanks to Rudy Effing Giuliani, involved The Flash -- which outlived its usefulness seasons ago and is now mostly fun to mock -- and Kung Fu, which is really quite enjoyable, since it has lots of women I like and lots of family drama that doesn't seem completely contrived like so many other shows I watch. Wow, my standards have dropped during the pandemic!