So extraordinary
that each time you saw her

it was like the first time
as if you had been new born

to the vision of her
even that last time

when she went across your view
with her husband

to the grocery store
and looking over at you

she smiled that smile of hers
and her eyes had that same sparkle

and even though
you had not seen her

in a few years
and didn’t know

her husband from Adam
you still felt seeing her

as if you had seen
a Degas painting

for the first time
or heard Beethoven

touching your ears
at a young age

or smelling your first Chanel
on some dame

but as she went by
into the store

and disappeared from view
you wanted to turn back the clock

to that evening
walking home from choir

and she turned
and kissed you

beneath the moon
and held you close

and happily sighed
but time was fixed

in its rut
for having seen her

that last time
she died.