Friday, June 22, 2018

Ceremonial

Unknown Artist


This is how I recall it:

A light lunch at my well-loved kitchen table:
crusty bread and baked camembert with
walnuts, rosemary, and honey. Then,
the coy invitation to take dessert outdoors.

Shall we? And, Certainly!
Crème brûlée? And, Unquestionably!

The streets glittered from the light rain,
and travelers came from near and far.

Taking cover beneath a bright umbrella, we spoke
in simple words—but, with what majesty!

Between us: two ramequins of saccharine rapture,
a sweating bottle of Chablis, and the sounds of
the ancient town, mingled with the voice of
Carla Bruni rasping out Enjoy the Silence...
or was it Quelqu'un m'a dit?

June held us in tender folds of silver and gold.
Immersed in our togetherness, I reflected:
Is this a betweenness or a withness?

But, oh, pranks of malleable memory . . .
Anything to lure us back into what once was!

Today, I stand in another June lightsilver and
goldremembering two women on a soft 
afternoon in Lille, and beaming. 

The grass holds tight to the ground, and to
the ten thousand blossoms here for the day. 
The bumble bees quiet and disperse.

A smile parts my lips as, ever so gently, evening
steals in—mild breeze and violet hues—startling 
me with its magnificent proximity. 

The symphony of twilight hums in my ears.
I shut my eyes and raise a glass: 
Santé, ma belle amie!

In this field of memory . . . nostalgia . . . 
wildflowers . . . 
dreams . . .      
I exult in
the enigmatic communion of then and now.



6 comments:

adriana said...

Dear Nevine, it's been so long! I read you and at the same time I feel so close and so far from you... We've been together so many times, maybe this round we will no see eye.to.eye, but we will breath heart to heart. I read your last three entries and I also feel deep within, nostalgia to see you. So many things have happened and more will come up. I remember a few years ago I thought everything that was supposed to happen to me in this life had already happen. Oh how wrong I was! I send you all my love and I wish you all sorts of success.

Nevine Sultan said...

Dearest Adriana,

Thank you for visiting me. I have been away, but even so, you dropped in. Life is always filled with surprises, isn't it? And, what would life be if not "happening"? I miss you a great deal, Adriana. Love and hugs, dearest.

Cremilde said...

Santé ma belle amie!
Comme tu sais décrire si joliment les petits plaisirs de la vie!
Gros bisous et merci pour le plaisir de la lecture de tes si beaux écrits! :)

Annie Melissa said...

Ah beautiful! I can almost taste the food and smell the fresh air! Thank you for giving me a slice of the outdoors on this early winter day. :)

Nevine Sultan said...

Thanks for the visit, Annie. I'm glad it was refreshing for you...

Nevine Sultan said...

Merci, ma belle Cremilde. Tu me manques beaucoup!!! Bisous.