All that is beautiful to a blind man

hearing the rush of a bird’s wings through the air, the sensual softness of his cat’s fur under his fingertips, the ringtone of his lover chiming loudly on his phone, biting into a perfectly ripe persimmon, the feel of the salt sea spray hitting his face, sinking into a hot tub slowly after a long walk on a snowy day, Louis Armstrong’s “It’s a wonderful world” playing on the radio, hearing his grandchildren laugh, Listening to Robin Williams live at Madison Square Garden, the sip of an expensive Bordeaux cross his tongue, the moments in between wakefulness and sleep, the vivid images in his dreams, a kind word, holding hands, a dog’s lick upon his hand