M.L. NEMIR

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Waltzing With Ruth We went way back today, didn't we?"
I turned around,
halfway down the frontporch steps,
looked at her wrinkled face,
thinning hair,
fragile body trying to balance
on tired feet.
I watched her dab the corners of her eyes
with kleenex -
a faint smile on her lips.
I replied - "Yes, we did."
I continued down the porch
toward my car.
Settled behind the wheel,
strapped in,
I turned to wave -
always, she stands on the porch -
one hand on the screendoor
the other hand waving goodbye to me.

I drive off
and wonder
if she will return
to the pile of aging photographs
for another glimpse of her youth.
I rather suspect
she will sit and close her eyes
and recall her happiness
some sixty years ago
with images in her head-
no need for paper memories.
And when I see her
tomorrow,
there will be no mention
of our venture into the past.
She will have forgotten.
But, for today
I am grateful
that she took me "way back" with her
and I saw
the young Ruth smiling
in love with the handsome husband
who swept her off her feet at a dance.
I saw her slender ankles
and dancing legs
and understood her stories.
No shadows in those pictures -
no trace of wrinkles -
no sign of timidness,
as she waltzed into her future.

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10/99

ISSUE#8 CONTENTS