The moment we arrived I felt it
Walking into the living room remembering
Being here waiting anxious hours
The day of my daughter's second brain surgery
Walking a trail the next day I felt it again
Seeing the empty cove completely drained
Exposing the expanse of low tide mud flats
Feeling something I could not name
Could this be the moon pulling on me
The same way it pulls on everything on earth
As if I am subject to internal tides
Being made of mostly water
That would explain away my feeling
Absent any emotional content
Eventually it comes to me
Being slow to grasp the obvious
This is the week my mother died
A long time ago when I was a boy
Next week is my birthday
When I will be almost eighty
Eighty is old
No matter who you are
But I am very much alive
And enjoying good health
These days I am happy for what I have
Feeling your love and returning it
Getting ready to be another year older
Celebrating being here with you
