Sure, the temp’s in the mid-40s, but
it’s sunny in Sacramento this fine morning,
and we’re into something good,
singing along with Herman’s Hermits—

the five of us exercising with Shelley
this morning on Marilyn’s driveway—
Something tells me I’m into
something good.

I cannot help but sing along;
I learned every word when I was 11
and my best friend Suz discovered
Herman’s Hermits a few years after

they became part of the American
rock’n’roll scene, thanks to the British
invasion of the musical kind. We
adored those four mop-top guys

whose voices floated out of the record
player in a house in Granite Bay,
California, singing a song written by
Carole King and Gerry Goffin,

later swooning over “Tapestry” when
Carole sang, My life is such a tapestry
of rich and royal hue, an ever-changing
vision of the ever-changing view.

And, oh, the view on this blue sky
day, as Marilyn, bundled in black,
walks out of her house to join us,
upright and ready for exercise,

looking good as she recovers from
her stroke, lifting pink hand weights
up, down, overhead, behind,
following Shelley as we all do,

our hearts rising on a brisk, almost-
winter day into something good,
so, so good to be together
again.