Unaffected by the Stock Market

(I wrote this last October, when the stock market first began to drop)

The Dow plunged

below 900 this week

(not a “crash” but a “correction” —

still, enough to put a dent

in your retirement account).

And yet…

An authentic October day—

with its banking clouds,

softened sunlight,

blue sky, and bracing winds—

managed to shoulder its way

into the eternal SoCal summer.

And when my wife

left the house this morning

she gave me a smile—

with lips and eyes—

that still fills my heart

with thrilling joy

after all these years.

(This is not sentimentality;

I speak the truth.)

God be praised—

these are unaffected by the stock market.