A WELL TRAVELED HEART

Tag: family

  • GARDENIAS

    GARDENIAS



    My father loved gardenias.
    Easter I'd find one by my place at the table
    to wear to church.
    Their rich smell and leathery leaves 
    baffled me as a child.
    Later I came to love them.
    Gardenias bloom today outside my door.

    Dad also loved chocolate.
    Chocolate hearts and cards
    graced our dinner table each Valentine's Day.
    My sister found his giant chocolate bar
    after he died.
    Mom preferred savory things, sausages, cheeses,  
    the roses that lined our front walk.

    Do fathers still give daughters corsages?
    We are so casual now even at church.
    (Jeans have their place but it's not everywhere.) 
    I adore men in summer suits.
    Women in gossamer dresses. 
    Girls in smocked pinafores.
    We've misplaced our elegance.
  • SATURDAYS

    SATURDAYS

     
 It’s hard not to love the world.
 A small boy at Dunkin’ Donuts
 all blue eyes - tousled hair 
 curls his toes
 on the rung of his chair 
 waves at me through the glass.
  
 Leaving Dunkin’, one dad
 holds the door for another as
 his daughter spins in her red skirt
 and her dark curls fly
 in a little girl’s flirt.
 Saturdays with her dad.
  
 How can I not love this routine 
 weekend trips with children?
 Media so rarely features bliss, 
 family outings, courtesy
 better than a kiss is the
 kindness and joy that hold us here.