Fore & Aft

a petal from a spring blossom

drifts up

white, almost iridescent

in the angled light

and disappears

above the balcony roof.

**

the cat eases down

shoulder first

to the carved wood

belly golden ripe

for the sun

one paw in elegant outstretch.

**

even the puppy

lies quiet,

a flat white,

you could say,

ear inside out

pinkly.

**

in his later years

on days like this,

my grandfather would say

cheerfully

“a storm is coming”.

how right he was.

**

it wasn’t long after

that PMs per term

and disinformation

and inflation

all increased

but not wages.

**

I wonder what he’d say today

in this lap of serenity

at the eye

of global uncertainty.

Even if I can’t ask him

at least

I can still see his smile.