THE PATIENCE OF HER POETRY

The more I travel,
the more intriguing
a person I become,
not necessarily to those around me,
but to myself.

Although I can hardly recognize
my reflection in the mirror,
I look beyond age and gravity
to see what she saw in me,
and I like what I see
because I am a reflection of her.

As a skilled baker
with artistry and patience,
she would take organic ingredients,
often coarse in texture and hard to digest,
knead them gently without friction,
and create a symphony of flavors
to mellow over time,
and when called for,
to rise to the occasion.
The ingredients became liberally diverse,
the recipes creatively unique,
and the final product, like good art,
reflected complexity and simplicity
at the same time.

Florine, like the artist
and the traveler, had a need
to be in motion, and I had a need
to be at her side,
connected to the world
and to the circle of life
through the purity of her eyes.

With a sweetness
steeped in authenticity and natural vivacity,
her heart was open to all in need of warmth
to blanket any void lingering
between daylight and darkness.

If I am interesting to others
as well as to myself,
it is because she cultivated
the flowers within me,
and my garden,
now in full bloom
is available for all to see...

through the patience
of her poetry.

© JOHN PISCATELLA