happiness in pleasantville

long backup on the Tappan Zee
late for dinner with Suzanne
at Bollywood Grill
in Pleasantville
she’s waiting for me, reading
when I anxiously arrive

discussing Agnes Martin
whether her work really
represented positive emotion
or was a kind of defense

noting my tendency toward cynicism, numbness
resistance to life (example: the election)
can I to open up to beauty