Daily Poem 4/30

"You chose good dishes," murmurs the beautiful Persian woman,
handing me cartons of Persian food.
Currants, cherries, saffron, almonds, lentils mingle with rice
it is good
her shy smile is good
in this little shop
a mustachioed man cutting dough
and she is smiling as soon as I come in
A neighbor she's never met.
When I pick up Ben & Jerry's next door
the convenience store guy
wants to know what smells so good
wafting from my take-out bag
I chide him gently for never having tried the food on the other side of the wall
make him laugh
but then I've never tried the Persian food either
we all have a lot of learning to do
when I get home the neighbors are already there
I am always astonished at
how present they are
even when I just feel like fading into
toddler-speak
easier to pick up blocks than try to tell
the compelling story in my head
but then how beautiful
that right now
everything should be so easy
woman sliding cartons across the counter
checkout clerk shrugging when I ask him
when he closes shop: "9:30?" he asks, like we'll figure it out together
families and kids on the street
wandering in through the door.
I don't have to do much
but
choose good dishes.