I Was Thinking of You When I Went To Wal-Mart Today

(An early birthday poem for you-know-who)

I was thinking of you
when I went to Wal-Mart today
because
when I was in the check-out lane
I remembered
that I forgot to get light-bulbs
so I pushed my cart
all the way back
to the light bulb aisle
and in so doing
passed the hummingbird feeders.
I saw one shaped like a
lighthouse
and put it into my cart.
It hangs now
from the apple tree
in the front yard -
reminding me
of when you stopped here
on your way to the coast,
reminding me
of the lighthouse conversations
we used to have
when you did your dissertation.
I know it wasn't a dissertation,
but somehow
the word
dissertation
sounds better in a poem.
And speaking of poems,
I'll move now from the narrative
to the metaphoric,
and mention that
the hummingbird feeder
hanging from the apple tree
acts as a beacon
drawing me toward the safe harbor
of your friendship
and reminds me
that all friendship
can flounder on reefs or shoals
if we fail
to guide ourselves toward one another
with steady hand,
allowing ourselves to be drawn
to what we prize most -
the light at the top.