Charles River Morning

. . . and for now it seems as though

you are still summer

still the high familiar

endless summer

yet with a glint

of bronze in the chill mornings

and the late yellow petals

of the mullein fluttering

on the stalks that lean

over their broken

shadows across the cracked ground. . .

~ W.S. Merwin, excerpt from “To the Light of September”

I am in the kitchen, early, and Suzi comes downstairs. She looks at me. She is smiling. She is hungry. She eats! Give her some baked chicken and she eats it right up. Relief. We go to see Dr. Summerhayes anyway––she has a bad ear infection. But today is a cheerful day of Suzi on the mend. Charlie walks with me after I food shop at 7:00 am. It’s chilly and pleasant, sunny and fresh. It’s a busy day of preparation for the shower. In a pleasant, fun, celebratory way of busy-ness. In the late afternoon, I hope to swim, but I am tired and there is dinner to cook and I’d like to take a nap. So, I must make a choice. Be tired and not swim. Or swim even though I’m tired and feel better. I swim. I do laps for a half an hour. And then it’s remarkable, how much I feel better.