Gesture and Perfume
The entryway to the square breakfast
room is incongruous with his folk
sweater, hemmed and rounded in brown,
his body at such an age that it stops—
waits, and looks at all of us seated
at tables—and before he sits—
he bows—to us—with such purpose
as to make himself genuine, so that
I am inclined to him—his gesture
so sweet that petunias near windows
speak plant to plant, emitting fragrance,
their receptors and response like a blessing
you might receive from morning perfume;
after thirty years I still see his dining-room
bow at a hotel in Salzburg as a centerpiece—
florals from him to us; gesture has its perfume.
© Jan Wiezorek
Jan Wiezorek writes and paints in Michigan. His work has appeared, or is forthcoming, in The London Magazine, The Westchester Review, Lucky Jefferson, Abstract Magazine, Minetta Review, Talon Review, Modern Poetry Review, The Passionfruit Review, Flint Hills Review, Sparks of Calliope, The Wise Owl, Poetry Center San José, and The Orchards Poetry Journal, among others. He taught writing at St. Augustine College, Chicago and wrote the ebook Awesome Art Projects That Spark Super Writing (Scholastic, 2011). Jan posts at janwiezorek.substack.com.
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