Be Willing to Be Amazed

Possibility shimmers its magic

There was no way to plan what happened
When I babbled to everyone I met
Last night from bookseller to reader to writer —
Except barista with downcast, red-rimmed eyes.

I’d done this adventure for years:
Going to meet authors in their natural habitat
Of bookstores, libraries, and gatherings
To hear them speak about their latest book.

Our Covid craziness is now an icebreaker:
What a person did when life was lived other than
As planned, cherished, adored, and hard —
As it was before everything changed.

One person retired and now merrily sells books,
Thrilled to be out of house full of sabbatical spouse.
Another created a new way for her children,
One aching with lonely, other relieved of pressures.

Author arrived in living color, shimmering vision
Blazing color and jewelry, as vivid as her words,
Spoke to crowd of six: three enraptured fans,
Two booksellers, and her husband driver.

Rows of empty yawned behind our tiny rows
Of rapt attention and easy laughter
As author wove magic with her stories
Of a story that only she could write

Because she was willing, adept, intrigued
To tug on threads, follow the faintest trails,
Listen, read, dive deep into possibility
Winking behind daunting and obstacles.

Hard-headed me cannot help but think
Of paltry pennies from book sales last night
Doing nothing much to lighten the burden
Of advance, expense, effort to be present

When crowds failed to show as promised
And those who did were enraptured,
Captivated, connected as was rare
Before the world stopped and we didn’t.

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