A surprise phone call
(love over 100 times)
built the ark
for the flood of mixed lessons
-gifts
gentle not so gentle
-no
received and tentatively given
-practice
in creating focus, vacuum, defense
-practice
in politeness
how deeply failures in etiquette go
-insight
to give from the heart not the easy pocket
-a listener
whose deep silence reminded me, reminded me
what is core

Magritte's gray suit and bowler
bicycled across the gray sky
it was a day-
a surrealist's holy day-
the phone call cradled it all.

Lessons without love
close doors;
lessons with love
open them