The First Day

with thanks to Mary Oliver

after your arrival
I jumped up and down
I clapped my hands,
I stared into space.

I walked toward the first warm sting of possibility

in those days I was hungry for emptiness,
go ahead tell me I was both silly and serious
as my stomach groaned for the
improbable possibility of days
without demand or calendars

on the first day in spite of
national, international news
I heard only the music from balconies,
the violinists, the soloists,
the gratitude from empty streets

my imagination did not stretch
like the birds in flight overhead
its range did not enter my heart now emptied
of curly cuddles,  it could not extend to
the frozen soil of my longing

after your arrival
I jumped up and down, 
I clapped my hands, 
I stared into space. 

gloria fern May 11, 2020