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
|