A Letter from New York

by Justine C. Tajonera

She talks about life
coming full
circle,
bringing back
memories of hillside
walks, plaid skirts
and falling leaves on
red earth.

There are children now
and husbands, jobs,
a life that has gathered
around us,
astonishing us sometimes
with how much things
can change
and stay
the same.

She tells me about
an exhilarating walk to
Central Park,
a book we both read,
and I imagine the passage
of time,
the boots and gloves
she wore,
the sound of the ducks
and the wind.

The distance between us
is bridged by a story,
one that we will tell
our children
when we are
grandmothers.

For Karina
(Feb. 17, 2010)
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/smoovey/3211678814/

Opening Line

By Justine C. Tajonera

It's just a simple conversation:
let's get together,
you and I,
let's talk all afternoon,
all evening,
if we can.

Then why is it so hard
to get this simple
message through
to you?

There's a dance around
this thing we are
doing,
something called
convention,
expectation.

I don't know.

There should be you
and me.
But in between

there are castles,
walls, screens,
stories, lies,
assumptions, rumors,
lakes, therapy,
thesis statements,
phobias and
pictures of
us

that are scrubbed
clean from my
facebook wall
but surfacing randomly

in my dreams:
mug shots flying by
as I do something ordinary
like open a door.

I want to open a door.
That's all I want
to do.

(Dec. 23, 2009)

For S.
Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/starrynight1/2250956869/