A Frugal Woman

A Frugal Woman

Gypsy woman wrapped in shawl
who looks to the east for wisdom.
Her smile radiates love light
in the soft embers of sunset
on an isle of peace
She dips her ladle into cool water
To wash away the dusty memories
Of love gone wrong on trails best forgotten
My eyes drink in her frugal form
With thirsty gaze upon peasant robe
Whose worn cotton gathers my ardor
I offer her Sufi wisdom in “Rubaiyat” book
She holds tattered pages like a treasure from heaven
And reads with hunger for beauty of words
We sit together under palm shade
But her chair is missing a seat
So I offer her mine
Like a fiery desert lioness
She says, “I believe men and women are equal.”
To which my bewildered words say, “Yours looks uncomfortable.”
She hands me back the Sufi book.
“I have to be careful because of abuse issues.”
And so she follows her path to another shore

How can I span the chasm between us?
I find her fanning herself under a date tree
And take off the gold ring my father gave me
I say, “Here, take this. I will never see you again.
There is nothing I expect in return.
You will need this when you reach the gates of Babylon.
The gatekeeper there requires a fee.”
Like the earth embracing the sun
She draws a circle around me with her hug
Her eyes open up into vistas of hanging gardens.
And her smile turns into gilded sunshine