at last, a weekend at the vineyard

the smoke has cleared

i'm glad to be here, glad to be asked to be here

colin's grandfather is doing well

showing his age

true enough, so am i

yenny is divine

a word my grandmother used

 to define special moments and special people

marcy, antoinette and antoinette's son nathaniel 

are here

colin is in good form, seems chill 

happy to see us, which makes me smile

it feels like coming home

~

lin and nathaniel, about the same age

are walking the rows 

nathaniel, having been here often 

is likely explaining this and that to lin

so i imagine

in a twenty-twenty-six version of man-speak

lin, amused by the one-sided conversation

she can be dismissive

but i know she likes nathaniel, so i hope not

as for me, here on the patio

with friends

the people i love most, i'm content

i am aware that these weekends

are precious

~

i love the vista, the hills of live-oaks

golden in the evening sun

rolling to the pacific, a chill in the air

how many time i've done this

why do i feel nostalgic

surely we will do this through all eternity

yet, looking at colin's grandfather

and yenny

and changes in ourselves

and the so-called younger ones,

i acknowledge

that change is not only inevitable

it is here to be seen

time matters, age matters

~

marketa sees my darkening brow

catches my eye

the merest shake of her head

brings me back into the present

the moment passes

i am fine, happy, in a lynn kind of way

a restless, unsettled, uneasy way, mind

always roaming

here, there and everywhere 

watching for the unexpected

waiting

for the unknown 

in its darkest form

that's lynn, that's me

~

antoinette and marcy are in the kitchen

helping yenny

marketa joins them, i pause

lin and the men-folk are talking on the patio

i watch them

listen to the soliloquy

colin's grandfather imparting wisdom

nathaniel nodding

colin . . . colin is quiet, lin quiet

as i watch and listen, something shifts

i am where i want to be

attuned to every nuance within and without

i feel marketa watching from the kitchen window

this is for her, i am unconditionally happy