Jack Gilbert Would not have Wasted the experience Of peeling the clementine
Strands delicate and white breaking As flesh separates from carapace
He would not have wasted The sensuality Of exploding droplets Citrus fresh Aerosol fireworks
Did it matter That at the end He was in a home?
Not gazing greedily at the Aegean Or the nipples of a lover Or savoring a meal of fish In a year of solitude As swallows flew Overhead
I don't know where my last hours will be spent
More reason, then, to embrace the scene Cat nestled on table's corner Dog on couch Greasy hands from lunch Pen on paper Birdsong, bells Wind on skin Wiggling ferns And yes The clementine Today
Ohhhh I love this here poem Dan.
I did not know Jack died of Alzheimer’s, or in a home.
But all the more context to savor the fish and the swallows and the all in the here in the now.