Barefoot — settle in fresh cut grass
I look through long-ago window
enchanted living room aglow
stare touches golden brocade couch
Upright piano — sheet music
splayed open — singing
French door waves wide
into spacious pungent kitchen
Mom leans over oak table
deals plates — folds napkins
vibrant bouquet sculptures in vase
visions clear like a series
of bright oiled canvases
I look down — toes grip green carpet
And whatever visions I saw
suddenly disappear
Sneaking through a picketed fence
my humdrum hand brushes scarves
of fiery nasturtiums
and kitchen table reappears
With just a touch of my hand
flaming vase gleefully awaits
with just a brush-touch of my hand
a swill of ghost memories reappears
Marianne Lyon has been a music teacher for 43 years. Nominated for the Pushcart Award 2016. She has spent time teaching in Nicaragua. She is a member of the California Writers Club, Solstice Writers in St. Helena California. She is an Adjunct Professor at Touro University Vallejo California. She was awarded the Napa Country Poet Laureate 2021 title.
