Improvisation on a Theme

Bass line on the pedals--

The man walks to her door.
She is without expectations--
her last boyfriend had been unfaithful,
the one before had left.

then, brightly, Harold’s theme.

First date: dinner at the Yeng Ching Palace.
She tells of her immigration,
her love for D.C. He speaks of his Kansas
childhood, the films he makes about science.
He says the Yeng Ching is the best Chinese
restaurant in D.C. She asks if he’s tried all
of them. He laughs, admitting he hadn’t.
At evening’s end, from joy and relief,
she kisses him.

The serenade dances

They start to explore one another.
At the Corcoran, he shows her
how to view photography “where
is the center of interest?”
She reads Adrienne Rich to him.
Laughter at word play.
Sharp exchanges,
finely honed tongues clashing.

Can they surmount
her English upbringing,
his Midwest background?

disharmonies enter.

​

He enjoys vistas, like the prairie,
she wants an enclosed English garden
with hedges and a gate.

Tensions, loud power,
cadence faster: sharp tones of promise.

They cook curries--
coriander, cumin, sweet cardamom,

The early theme repeated, tentative touch, mature now.

attend Othello, discuss the new interpretation,
sing Mack the Knife together,
attend organ concerts.
She reads his stories, he reads her poems.

The serenade, loud and powerful
this has come from that:
passion from restraint
roar, shout, crescendo.