What are you reading Ophélie

Why have you typed my name in bold

Because you are important to me

I do not consider myself important

You are

This poem is about your summer

My summer

What are you reading

The Year of Magical Thinking

Is that the Joan Didion book

Yes

Look at the cover Joe

What do you see

The authors name and the title of the book

Do you see anything else

Not really

Look closely

The colours of the individual letters vary

Red blue and silver

Can you see two names

Joan

And

John

Why do you think that is

Well obviously Joan was the author

But John who is John

John Dunne was Joan’s husband

In late 2003 he suffered a fatal coronary

The book is about the loss of John

And the illness of Joan’s daughter Quintana Roo

It is a very powerful book

Joan is one of my favourite writers

I have read many of her books

Why are reading it now

Because I am sad Joe

Why sad as the day is quite beautiful

Everything is drenched in colour

Everything is beautiful

That is why I am sad

As I know that this is so transient

In the blink of an eye it will be over

Like the poor boy who drowned in the bay last year

As a poet you must realise that

I do and yes I feel a sadness that this might end

But look at it this way

You are on a train journey

It is a beautiful train journey

You can see nothing but beauty

You are enjoying this train journey

And then you arrive at your destination

Which is plain and without much beauty

All of a sudden you feel sad

Bleak you feel dirty

Reality has overwhelmed you

You sit in a coffee bar and close your eyes

What thoughts pass through your mind

The thoughts of the journey

It is not always the destination

But the journey

We are on our journey at present

We both know that the chill winds are not far away

Please read and finish Joan’s book

But always keep a balance

You are not sad

You just see things within a sharp white light as I do