Even Now

Even now . . . . how long has it been? Even now you push your way into my thoughts And force smiles when I need them most You send the hummingbird to pause before pansies So that I can hear once more, “Darling, look . . . .” When winds shiver through trees I can hear your laughter and sighs “Look at us . . . . we fit together like legos!” As you slid beneath my arm and lifted your eyes That were the sanctuary of a thousand secrets The simple honesty of you, almost naïve “I will love you, you know . . . . Even if you stop loving me, or leave Or treat me badly or grow indifferent I will love you and because of that I am terrified of us” And you trembled against me Because I was the only shelter you knew And you could go there in your fear Because my heart was always at home “In Italian we say, L'amore mantiene giovani” You whispered “The heart that loves is always young” And your smile came so easily, filled with hope And frantic zeal, “I am immortal!” Then would come the shower of your quick kisses And a ribbon of bright phrases in Italian Darting from your lips too quickly to understand Then once I guided you to the jewelry shop window To hear you say, “If I was your wife, would you love me more?” And I could not lie so you smiled before we walked away