L’Chaim

We shared scalding mushroom barley soup at Ratners

that frozen windy January night

2nd Avenue Manhattan,

Santana at the Fillmore.

We probably forgot one another

till right now.

We rode squeaky red bikes

baseball cards flapping in the spokes

through Beach 28th St

Rockaway alleyways

those sweaty teenage summer nights,

dodging Yiddish whistles

dripping cherry ice pops

chasing each other hysterical

careless catching each other

till right now.

We dreamed about inspiration

you painting watercolor photographs

me scribbling photographic image poetry

both there on Tinker Street

summer of ‘69,

yet never showing up

for our exhibit together

our dance together

till right now.

I never thought much about your history,

Jewish woman, and the

Timeless Matriarchal Visionaries

Rachel or Rebecca,

multicolored Rust woman.

For right now,

we have survived this dream

to accompany the Joy of our children,

we have survived,

to collect the ashes from our infinite ancestors

and kept them alive

to begin again

to be reborn for right now.

Perhaps we have survived

to embrace some dignity,

cultivate prophetic dreams

symbiotic highway visions

laughter of hip tradition

and tears and the bitter herbs of old and lost rivers.

You have restored the loving inspiration

your French sister passed on to you,

an eternal candle

that has waited patiently to be relit

and now

comes back again

in Blue White Radiance.

and so we again meet, 

discover each other's birthright

this time around,

serendipitously stumbling upon

that truly tender

radiant star  ✡️

11/15/03