speech derailed
tipped off balance
a world in fragments
when loss follows its own narrative
secured to his hospital chair
the man
stroke weary
slumps, ungainly as reeds
she caresses his hands
dependent touching
poised intimacy
her words:
"I will love you always.
please say after me,
I will love you always."
her spoken meditation on love's loyalty
words that beg remembrance
he nods
wide eyed faith
caught in sunless seclusion
does he know love by looking at now?
in the white room
there are puzzles that fog the brain
that can't unravel clues
"Try
try
just once more"
splintered words
healable vows
"I will love you, all ways."
Poem composed April 9, 2023
Categories:
healable, angst, devotion, emotions, giving,
Form: Free verse
It remains a mystery
How to manage the real physical pain
Announcing itself from inside, punching at the soul
Brain and body responding to the ineffable nature of life’s complexity.
Precisely because of you
Life cannot ever look the same
From germination--first coffee, a car ride, lunch
Cocktails, a kiss--Now lives something of uncertain form or substance.
Holding tightly this gift
Offered to us by unknown angels
(Unless a joke, designed by scheming spirits
Laughing, making the timing wrong then wrong still and wrong again)
The idea still baffles
That somehow I became a choice
You really wanted, and then embraced so fully
Joyfully I basked, without understanding the reality, late to grasp truth
In time fighting less
Wrestling with rigid notions long held
Holding me away from the open path before us
Intensity and wonder producing a radiant beacon in a dark world
Torn bleeding and raw
Heartfelt salve available to repair the injuries
Not knowing if arriving late to the fullness of Love
Precludes tending healable wounds while a new heart stakes its claim
Categories:
healable, longing, lost love, time,
Form: Free verse