Ida’s eyes
Greet me
With a flash of magic
That only comes
From being recognized

The fact that she sees me
That a fully formed person
Is there
Behind those probing eyes
Is a shock

A quick and curious mind
Connected to a smile
And memories
We have made together

Ida looks at me
Seeing her Yeh Yeh
Who sees his Ida bear
Taking in the world
By the handful
In huge gulps
Unafraid

Improvising
Hands, legs, and contortionist body
A multi-purpose machine
Being controlled
By a skillful crane operator

A human being under construction
An all terrain vehicle
That can scale any obstacle

Intrepid explorer
Determined to leave no button
Untested

Sometimes Ida
Stops mid-step to ponder
Something deep within her mental model

Her eyes are vacant
Cataloging nuances
Methodically thinking

And just as suddenly
She’s back again
Eyes scanning horizons
Near and far

Body tilted toward another destination
Finger directing the mise en scene
As elegant as any baton
Conducting an orchestra
Or a bowsprit pointing towards dawn

The family agrees
Ida has discovered a method
Not usually taught —
That being : red things taste good

This principal
Appears to have some support:
Strawberries, cherry tomatoes and pimentos
Are red and sweet
And deftly disappear
Into her cupid mouth

Requiring the tongue
To twist and push
The teeth to mill
The sweetness from the flesh
And taste the cha-ching
Of a reliable jackpot
Red sweet thing

The mouth preparing to form words
In the babbling pre-verbal period
Before alphabet organizes
Sound and symbols
Into words and rules
And the whole inheritance
Is transferred
A person at a time

So before that happens
Let me thank you once again
For letting me gaze anew
Through Ida’s eyes
At the wonder of it all