Celery Farm July 9, 2023

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life partners dance

I am following in your footsteps

Matching you stride for stride 

As we walk along listening to music 

Going in a loop from room to room

When outside is too hot or cold or storming

Or the air quality is unhealthy 

We switch to doing inside laps

Keeping up our daily exercise

We march along in a two-person parade

Coupled in our private line dance

Me staying on the beat if I look down at your feet

You reminiscing about days past picketing

If I get too close crowding your space 

You step aside for me to lead the way 

Though as we are walking a circular path

No one is really in front or behind 

We are good at being together

But if I were a good dancer like you

For your birthday I would take you dancing

Knowing how much fun you had 

You who loved to dance

Before you paired with me

Happy now in a different way

Doing our life partners dance

Skylands NJBG July 5, 2023

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an essential service

On the morning of the third day

Worrying about our house going up in flames

Unable to get through on a holiday weekend 

I called yet another electrician's number 

Emilio called back and came right away

Speaking in a voice I instantly liked hearing 

Paired with Dave his helper ready to take care of us

Replacing the main suspect components

Not a simple problem to diagnose and fix

With unexpected scary weird symptoms

But these two determined what needed to be done 

Puzzling it out while answering my questions

Eight years since Emilio started as a helper 

Four years since he got his electrician license 

And four years these two have been amiable work partners 

As I take in the respect and affection between them 

Emilio lifts the neck of his tee shirt up to his nose

To wipe off drips of sweat as best as he can

Standing at the top of the ladder handling live wires

While I watch admiring him and his skills

Replacing the box by the meter was not enough

The entire breaker panel gets replaced too

Leaving us without power for seven hours

While they worked in the heat of a July day

I brought them water and thanked them

Seeing their clothes smeared with grime

Working on a day most people had off

Giving me a break not charging extra 

Now they are gone I miss their camaraderie

Such handsome young men with winning smiles

Who provide an essential service cheerfully

Happy to make an honest living 

I wish I had asked them if I could take their picture

For me but also to give to them to keep 

For the day when they are my age and look back

Proud of the work that they did