I looked at her sideways
and caught her smile
like a fisherman catching
an unexpected silver trout.
an unusual smile,
not the ordinary dutiful kind
not the meat-and-potatoes kind
for people and family,
but a glowing radiance
defrosted from the past.
a pure mini-explosion of joy
which transformed the
oh so disciplined geography
of her face
and erased the arroyos of age
to reveal
the happy child
at play.