Jane's Eyes

Jane's eyes can not detect the way
and so she was guided slowly to the table
"Ah the Sun!" she said
We sat on the bright terrace
heat rising from the painted deck
a breeze rustled the table cloth
Jane sat silently as a buzz of conversation
rose in the warm air
she wove her fingers together
then, said "what is out there?"
the buzz ceased, "rocks and trees" said Vic
-a fact no one could dispute-
but Jane's fingers worked again, her head more inclined
I said "we are perched on the rim
of a great valley. I see shadowed ridge lines
5 and 10 miles away, partly obscured
by great pines that stand before us
below, perhaps 200 feet, there is a small meadow
where deer would graze, and a trail to follow
ending in a defile where a creek
might roll in rain"
A toast was raised by someone, I raised my glass
and gazed upon the hundred purples of the distant ridges
and I drank of it long and deep
despairing of words