nagoonberry

Detached Retina

I imagine that day-
when the fog that had gradually begun to obscure your vision in one eye
took over

and blackened.

no longer a net-like pattern of light
that you could sift through
and process

you began to see the world differently.

and I have often wondered

if your firm, stubborn love for elderberry trees
and your penchant for the color pink

comes from some difference in perception

and what you might have been thinking

when your 6 year old daughter-
told to wear an eye patch or lose her sight

protested with a stubbornness matched only
by your persistent ascent of a high peak
acomplished with only two eyes,
shared between two men,

and you
reticent yet gentle
strong and full of love
yielded to

the wisdom of the six year old

who was keen enough to notice
that even from an eye unable to see

emanated a fierce and tender light.