I do so swoon with
admiration for this woman and
her marvelous roles: imaginal scholar,
mytho poet, dramaturge, handmaid
of initiates; she’s alive with
fires in so many fields:
literary, Jungian, feminist, artistic,
theological, academic – she can change
the color of your world with
one stroke of her word brush

Irons in the Fire, A Mythopoetics of Molten Metal
and the Arts of Iron Handling

Brazilian whippet lean and brown-
eyed friendly constant worker who
knows it doesn’t happen instantly –
status change from single to
married, getting legal, graduating from
housecleaning to her own upholstery
business in her own snazzy
home – reasons to smile and
hug you plentiful and lots
of good food, dancing too

big-eyed as Bambi, gangly,
high on quality, but not
well liked except by his
closest comrades who spent hours
in his office, chatting, dreaming,
planning, how to follow where
he led when layoffs came –
I was uncommon, maybe
even odd, but he still took
a chance and hired me

new grandpa – first in my
generation! – of twins! I want
to watch him and my sister
get born into grandparenthood –
it sounds like fun from
what I’ve heard and
I hope they get lots of
toys and games for Christmas
so they have them handy
when the kids come over

the last time
I visited Tell City
when we drove 2223 miles
east for Christmas
my grandfather gave me
some money
so I could buy myself
something to open
I bought myself some shampoo
and an alarm clock and
opened them
in a festive circle of elderly
sitting on chairs

one of those super competent
LPNs who embody the “practical”
in their title, busy in her
white coat hustling from
one patient to another at
the clinic, glasses dangling round
her neck, trailed by smiles
at her wry humor and
her contentment with her life,
her job, her role – well gifted