To the woman in the blue dress

To the woman in the blue dress walking in front of the empty strip center store on Route 20 who did not tie back her auburn hair letting it fly behind her like a lacy cape — to the woman who led with her chin and whose smile was reflected in the way she swung her canvas bag timed perfectly with each stride — to the woman who chose to defy the gray sky with a dress the color the sky could if it were Greece or Italy or some place besides Cleveland — to the woman in the hip grazing, long blue dress with stars bursting from the cotton, in the dress that was slit to the knee but no further — to the woman with crinkles in the corners of her eyes who did not require footnotes, who gave today’s potential a slight-handed, encouraging nudge without even looking — to the woman in the blue dress — thank you.