A Proustian Moment--By Isha Wagner--New Zealand

A Proustian Moment

The madeleine moment when I too ceased to be
Contingent and mortal : asleep with drudgery and ennui
Not forgetting fear, grief, anguish
Walking down the dull empty street
Blind to magnificence of pink flowering trees..

Then a gentle breeze wafted a distinct odour
of frying tomatoes
Of a sudden my heaviness gone, seeing with
perfect clarity myself as a child at the bay
Camping with my father man, laughing as he cooked
a pan of fresh, fleshy, bright red tomatoes
In butter over a beach fire : cups of billy tea
Slices of white bread and we ate :
These were perfect moments

Now I am awake
Astounded at the beauty all around me

Isha Wagner is a New Zealand poet. She has resided in many countries including Iceland, Libya, India, and Australia.  She read some of her work at the VIII International Poetry Festival held in Granada, Nicaragua, in February 2012. She has had three collections of poetry published.