To Allison

[cordilleran2]

“To Allison” (Sangiovese)
I remember when we first met;
you knocked on my door when I was five,
introduced by the girl I whom was my first crush
(pardon the grape pun, if you will)
asking if we could all play together.
And so, we did, for years to years;
for a while, we were apart,
but that's just how life works,
sometimes.

I look back on all the years;
and you were my first sangiovese-
my very first, before even
the first wine I drank deeply at fifteen
from far distant and mysterious Tuscany
dancing in campfire light
on the night the heavens were lit by fire
from the absent sun, and coyotes howled
with laughter at the aburdity
of burning palm fronds.

(You see, at fifteen,
when all the other boys
were discovering the girls
wrapped up under soft sheets
and ended up seduced by the thrill
of bare breasts and soft lips
I discovered wine,
and popped the cork
to my destiny, seduced by history
and bottled sunlight.)

I weep for the pain you have suffered
at the hands of those who
abuse your heart and soul.
You, like the grape I adore
were my first true love and friend.
We are siblings now, by fate if not by blood
and I would not have it any other way;
for we are each other's Sangiovese,
and that is more permanent
than any other love
known to humanity.

For when trouble comes in the night
and all the other grapes leave us heartbroken
we call each other in tears
knowing the other
has the bottle open,
and the glasses ready for healing laughter
while we toast to the destruction
of the motherfuckers who wronged us.
Drink deep, my dearest friend and sister;
Daylight is coming.
And all things are beautiful again
in the light of the sun.