(for Briana Martinez and Dick Schmidt,
siblings of the heart)

Never forget that you’ve been given
a second chance—

more than once, it turns out—
a series of fleeting mercies

that whiz by so fast you
rarely notice them.

But this evening, after dinner
with a friend from far away,

you catch the reflection of
the last of the day’s rays,

the sky with its never-before glow,
and you two, forever grateful,

stand and marvel, as only
the truly resurrected can.

•••

(With thanks to Pamela Foster and the AED Institute
for their good work in installing defibrillators throughout
Hawaii like the ones that restarted the hearts of
Briana Martinez and Dick Schmidt.)