Reunion

April 9th

Clear day.
Manhattan skyscrapers tall against the blue sky
Stand as if the sky were the limit.

We bought lunch from a street vendor
At the corner of Six Avenue and 48th Street.
A gyro with chicken and lettuce
Instead of lamb for me
Served with yogurt sauce enriched with sour cream, and
Hot peppers on top.

With the fountain sparkling behind us
We ate street food together.
We ARE in Manhattan.
Yummy.
Ms. Grasshopper said, "I wish I could take this back to Japan as a rice ball."
Yes, yes, me too.

16:00
I wait for Bob in my room in Hilton.
I fixed my makeup.
The camera is waiting, too, for
The reunion of the former husband and wife.

Behind the door, I heard
The coordinator and Ms. Grasshopper talking.
Bob must have arrived.

What can I do?
I can't run away now.
How do I greet him.
The door opened.

"Maria!"
Bob's voice
Bob's face
came up smiling.

Silence fell in the room.
Bob put his arms around me
not too firm, not too soft
Bob let a sigh out,
The kind of sigh one let out after accepting everything.

I stretched out from the wheelchair
Bob leaned forward, and we hugged each other
In silence taking in the time past.
I felt too awkward to cry.
How complicated the human emotion is!

Bob brought an old video tape,
The video of my parents' visit to U.S.

My father and my mother are laughing.
I am excited, and narrating.
Central Park and Bronx Zoo
Bob's aunts, Maryanne and Kate.

The video filled the blank of
Our history.

Dinner at
Rolf's
A German restaurant
Potato pancakes with apple sauce was
Our usual order then.

We discussed the existence of God.
It might be the first time we talk about the subject.
The god lead me to the illness and the reunion.

In the heart, he had many rooms.
There was a room, named "Maria," he said.
He would always open the door, place flowers, let in fresh air, and cared about me.
That's why we were here today
That's why we were reunited, Bob said.

The same is with me.
I have always had Bob in my heart.
I was in love with him.
I never stopped loving him.

We can't search for the future.
We won't search for the future.

Our conversation continues
In the Manhattan evening
Bob is here
I can't believe it.

We took a bus on the way back.
It's perfect public transportation for a wheelchair.
I got on in a wheelchair and got off in a wheelchair.
Fare is $2.25.

We arrived at Hilton
I started coughing.
Bob tapped my back
Gently.

J's Kan-non hands
Helped me to let go of the tension.
Joy and comfort flushed out of the core of being.

I am so relieved that
I could tell Bobby
Thank you and good bye for good and all.

poem by Maria Franki

edited and translated by J. Ujiie

©2011