My Poem:   twelve frames


Portrait of an eternal love 

So long ago, I must have been no more than fifteen 
Looking over the Eastern Andes Cordilleras
Long before we met I often dreamed about her. 
In a National Geographic map my fingers landing in Indiana 
Convinced that when we finally met, the accuracy of my dream she would assert.
Judi, that’s her name, on the shore of the Ohio River was born.
Her parents, a couple we all adored
Julius, her dad, hailed from Minsk,
Laura, her mom, from Milwaukee.
He a Russian Jew, she a second generation American Jew
Two wonderful daughters that resulted from that brew.

Me, born not to far from the equator 
Carried on my skin the tropics and the lament
Of parents who fled Nazi Europe 
Along with the flavor of coffee and the weight of their forced exile
My parents voice retelling the horror,
Fleeing and leaving behind family and belongings.
Yet their eyes filled with a fire, a red hot fire
A mandate to love and forge forward.

In our twenties we met under a sky that burned in gold and red
It was a glorious autumn day!
A wind on my back pushing me towards her
As if the history, with invisible hands
Had weaved this instance for the two of us.
Her eyes were like mirrors of worlds
I never believed I would know,
Yet the same I as a child had inhabited in my dreams.

Fifty five years, love,
Still dancing with our remembrances
Like two, playfully running along refreshing ocean waves.
Your smile to this day is my anchor,
Your voice, the language I trust.
From Cali to Boston
The old parental wounds left behind for never ending joy,
I choose you every day,
Each autumn we celebrate this point of our history. 

A portrait of you I have shared
Whether low key or high
With studio lights or just candle lights.
Whether sitting at the piano or reading your favorite book
In the kitchen or in bed 
For me: a wonderful journey with not end in sight!

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and she makes a good model because she has an incandescent smile, that makes any shot she is in  a winner!

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Fabulous portrait, Carlos.  Judi's eyes and smile just draw you in!  Congrats on 55, going on 56!

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Congratulations to you both. I cannot think of anything to aspire more to than a life well lived with purpose and love forever by your side...

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