On blowing a kiss

She said it happened upon blowing a kiss
Her mother turned and smiled, transported
Her breath through her lips, palm
Pointed to the sky, whoosh, smack
And then she fell, changed on the ground
Body battered, damaged
Her breath like a comet, recoiled perhaps
A force of love, momentary lapse
Of balance, imbalance, slow to heal
To old to heal?
Comets fly through the heavens, shine
We look up when we can, notice
They fly by night and day, no fanfare
Some meant for the solitary astronomer
Eyepiece, patience, waiting, notebook, noted
Named, smiles reflected in smiling knowing eyes
We hurtle like comets, shedding bright light
Exothermic, giving heat and warmth
We learn to blow kisses before we can speak
And teach the exquisite gesture
A silent quiet loving pantomime
Lips distant, we show kind intent, longing
Perhaps desire where desire’s too strong
She said it happened upon blowing a kiss
Her mother still smiles, transported
To times of memory, places imagined
Her new reality amid a constellation
Somewhere, here but not the here
You know…
Constellations look flat, patterned
Imagined shapes, animals, vessels, dippers
We imagine, too and try
To make sense of stars and comets
When really we’re looking at us
Smiling moments of sweet light.

Blowing a kiss by Maria Elena Romera from http://www.mria.net