A privileged view of a passing comet: lucky and numbered

A week or two after my niece Alma Maleckar Bear died last November, New Orleans writer and poet Chris Sullivan sent me this beautiful poem he had written about his muse. I asked him if I could re-post it here, and he said yes. The title of the poem is “She was like, like itself” – which I love.

There are phrases, though, that really spoke to me of Alma, which I put together above: we were all privileged to have her in our lives, yes; little did we realize how lucky and numbered the days were. Also, I can easily hear her saying “thanks darlin’ come back again.”

So here it is for you. Thank you Chris!

Alma Maleckar Bear

She was like, like itself

You saw those eyes

and wanted to have them around

it is for all seasons,

our liking to sustain a crush,

isn’t it / don’t we?

so he became quite attracted to

daily transactions with his server at the café

she had had an Uncle like me.

now were avuncular a profession

I’m known as a Distinguished Practitioner

of the art, for she was an exhibit

of the muse wearing mascara and tattoo

serving coffee and toasting bagels

One day he brought in a photo book he made

of Passaquan, a place like her in its defiance

there should be anything but beauty

and said I want you to look at this

wow she said

and back to serving

but something had been established

later there would be discussions of promising junk

they found, and revered,

a light fixture in particular

…so it was a very nice thing that December, to discover Alma now operated the counter at the cafe. I knew there was something odd about this, for to sight that too good to be true is as rare as the counter is common and I did not believe it could for long contain her – volume. My intimated dread was based on the certainty of conflict arising from a crazed customer dis-service oriented cafe manager justifiably liked by none; evil stepmother all but stenciled on her forehead, I reckoned I’d be lucky if Alma lasted a month, about how long it took before her expanding, captivated and satisfied customer base was disabused of its good dream at the cafe; like having a privileged view of a passing comet, I vowed to enjoy each cup she served.

It certified my step and each encounter put some wind in my sail, brightened my morning, this first hand evidence that such people existed – her indelibility.

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My Servers Eyes

just colonize all of me instantly

my Server is moving right along

she’s got other things going on

still she always says my name

thanks darlin come back again

One Afternoon when it was slow

I made a little move

as she polished the display case chrome

to a soft face reflecting glow

and her once black now near sheer T

made eye earring contact