Foresight (For Jack)
“Near-“or “far-” I never knew
which was which. I could see
things up close–that I knew…
but all was a blur away
in the distance.
I recall
my first pair of glasses. I
told my mom I could see all
leaves high up in the park tree,
that had been before a mere
mass of dark green.
Did the word
“Nerd” land on my little ear
when in school? I did not care:
now I could see all the world…
– Steve Shoemaker, Urbana, IL, Jan. 25, 2014
Views from the Edge 
You may remember that I was wearing glasses when I first met you when we were about 4 yrs old. I remember being mightily glad to see what mom and dad had been talking about for some time. “Oh, now I see what you mean by stars!” I think I said (or something to that effect). I know we were all relieved that I could finally see them. One could quite a lot more then. The closest collection of really bright lights was in Philly. No King of Prussia, the towns along the Main Line had far fewer lights and they were not so bright. The night sky was magic. It still is, but you must get away from cities and large towns whose principle “destination” are shops in order to see it.
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Carolyn, Isn’t it funny how little we know? I didn’t know your eyesight was so impaired. I just knew that you wore glasses. At that age I suppose I didn’t think to ask why. This is rich. “Oh, now I see what you mean by stars!” I can hear your cherubic voice in that line. And, yes, you have to get away from the city lights – especially the neon ones that draw attention to the stuff – to see the stars.
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Need another verse talking about Cataracts and Surgery to remove them. I am sure you could rhyme in something about the blue halos I see around lights. 🙂
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You, too?
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