42 Years

[Norma photo]
Here redbud blooms
Beside our door
And I, not only
Myself anymore,
Remember back
Into this thing
Of light, decision,
Life --it's all
One spring--
March twenty-first.
Its door gives onto
The universe.

Marzo

Era 1970.
Il mondo stava per
Inferno e
Ho detto a lei:
Won't you marry me
Just this once?
A volte si
Vincere, non importa
Quello che il mondo fa.
Si tratta di un giardino,
Solo un giardino.

Holy Land

[Norma photo]

When childish forces
Played with
Earth until it broke,
God spoke in
Aromas of dust and
Crumbled stone,
Left each alone to
Pick a way
Down rocky scrubble,
Down promontory or
Black cave--
Some immense trouble,
Some offense.
I forget what story
He gave, what
The problem was.
One is
A gardener and does
What a gardener does.