She regained her sight for five days and she said
I cannot be left alone with the lettuce
I cannot be left alone with the lettuce—
the salad strewn in the salad bowl,
the bite-sized leaves and the red shreds
terrified her with tremendous color
and then she was blind again—
operation unsuccessful—
and I remember one other thing:
she traveled.
This surprised me for I could see
and I did not travel
and the contrast terrified me
while making a kind of calm sense,
especially when I was sleeping,
for I often thought of Cuba
and felt safe in the tropics,
walking among fronds with nothing to do
but watch red lizards climbing the wall.
Of course I have never been to Cuba,
but it remains a place
where I have never found it necessary
to alter my description of anything.