(In memory of Lorraine Hansberry and Eleanor Roosevelt, who
each lived by Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village)

•••

After a week of living
in their neighborhood—
albeit as a visitor—

I walk by the buildings
they once called home,
the playwright and

the first lady/United
Nations delegate,
and I imagine

myself stopping in
for tea with Mrs. R.,
talking writing with

Miss H.—though
they didn’t live here
in the same era.

But oh, for the chance
to leap through time
and present myself

to women I admire for
their groundbreaking
achievements, perhaps

stepping outside with
the ladies to walk
the park leafing greenly

in early May, stopping
to admire tulips and
azaleas. Look at that,

I’d say. Have you ever
seen such a stunning
spring? And I’d watch

them smile at the eager
Californian so taken
with the place they

called home.