Surrounded by memories, I’m sitting with my tea.

Broad morning light fills the familiar room,
and the wall clock’s second hand sighs repeatedly,
“think back, think back, think back.”

On the old formica sill above the sink,
one clear vase holds a single stem of quince;
its blossoms stand quietly
in pink relief against the smudged and water-spotted kitchen window.

I can see, from this spot indoors,
that the outer world is contemplating springtime:
a cloudless, cold, bluebird March sky, the neighbor’s quiet house, and an old pine tree are framed precisely by the sunlit plate-glass
– like a private landscape exhibit.

“think back, think back, think back” – thrums on…

….to this same view, nearly 25 years ago.
But it’s now November, past sunset, and the fluorescents overhead are humming.

I’m standing in front of the sink, and the chilly sheet of glass above it
is streaked with foggy soap splash.
And with rolled shirt sleeves and wet hands, I protectively grip my new son.

He’s round and tiny in the enamel basin, and his skin
is softly quince-colored against the milky bathwater.

Over the top of his small head, I gaze out the inky window toward
an equally bright kitchen across the street.
It blinks through the black shadows surrounding our homes, and I notice
my neighbor, back-lit,
peering into the autumn night.

We exchange a wave, and connected now,
she pauses to watch as I lift my boy from the water.
I hold him up – high above the sill –
so she can see his small steamy body
glowing through the darkness.

“think back….”

© martha lee phelps