I brought a lot of coffee mugs with me across the Atlantic Ocean.  I remember sitting in Canada and saying “Yes” to some and “No” to others.

A month ago, there was another purge.  Many of the mugs no longer sung to me … and so they found their way to the Oxfam second-hand store.

What remains in my kitchen are about fifteen objects that warm my hands as they wrap around the ceramic.  I decided to use a new one every day for two weeks.

And here you see the choice of today.

I’d forgotten about it.  Not once in three-and-a-half years did I drink in the woman’s raised hand.

Then I remembered.  She had been special to me for years in Canada.  There were even certain words I said each time I’d lift her to my lips.  And now they’re gone from my mind.

***

There’s a renewal here

May this woman grace many of my mornings …

For a very long time

And may I remember the long ago words

Or watch new ones emerge