Saturday, September 30, 2017

These Days.......



These days
I often find
my thoughts
returning
to dusty mesas
dotted with dry scrub
along the arroyo
through dry, sandy gorges
you once told me
was a river long ago

In reverie
I circle sleepy rooftops
finding yours
where we made love
one afternoon
your face so dark and beautiful
above me
those summer days
that ended
way too soon

Those days
you were an eagle
soaring / captive
caught somewhere
between the earth
and sky
while I caught my breath
and emptied out my being
into the wonder
of becoming
you and I

Now my spirit
sometimes walks
on summer mornings
- dew-fresh scent
of tall marsh grasses,
willow trees,
fresh lake ripples
lapping gently
on the shore -
the scent of
all the mornings
I remember
and I long to walk
beside the lake
once more

In memory
you turn
your slow smile
on me
always a bird
alighting on your hand
I hear again the coo
of doves at daybreak
and somewhere -
another time,
another land -
"Blackbird" is singing
in the dark of night
while two lonely seekers
try to hold their pain
at bay
by clinging
to each other
way too tight
unable to find words
to make it right
and somehow
lose their way

The dove
lost its mate
and flew
but keeps on
circling
     circling
back to you
never very far
from where you are
if you
but knew

Through all
those years
I saw your beauty
plain
and now I am
remembering
remembering
again

The single step
that started
my long journey
the thousand miles
it took
to bring me home
All I was
searching for
I found
within me
forever now
without the need
to roam

I have one more 
hug
to give you
in this lifetime
one more time 
to see
the smile start
in your eyes
If we never
meet again
know I have
loved you
as no other
all the seasons
of our lives


For the Poetry Pantry at Poets United. I wrote this poem in 1994, remembering a man I loved in 1980's Kelowna. 

23 comments:

  1. What a lovely poem for that lost love, the way you have used the nature it seems to taking part in your story,

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  2. Feelings for someone special will certainly linger on after all these years!

    Hank

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  3. I sense the deep love, longing and loss.

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  4. These are precious memories. The poem may be decades old, but the tenderness and longing in the words are as fresh as ever.

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  5. So tender, so precious, Sherry. The voice in your poem has this longingness. Hope you had given him that last hug..

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  6. 'In reverie I circle sleepy rooftops
    finding yours where we made love one afternoon your face so dark and beautiful above me those summer days
    that ended way too soon'.. this is so beautifully eloquent!❤️

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  7. This is incredibly poignant and lovely, Sherry. A thing of beauty!

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  8. All that love and the promise of memory... pure delight and romance.

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  9. Sounds like a wonderful love, Sherry. I am glad that you have this memory to warm you when you need it.

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  10. Nice write. I am so happy for you...
    ZQ

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  11. Claps! Amazing. This felt like something I wish I'd written. It truly, honestly made me feel at peace and even majestic. Pretty poem you have here.

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  12. This is a different subject matter for you but clearly it was written by your heart, your memory and your longing. It is beautiful, so sincere, so revealing about your life and love.

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  13. Oh Sherry I adored this poem of remembered love...
    'If we never
    meet again
    know I have
    loved you
    as no other
    all the seasons
    of our lives'

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  14. My goodness...so lovely, but solemn. I fear that this is the story of many of our lives.

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  15. This is really special, Sherry. I love the way in which nature weaves - so hypnotically - through this beautiful true love story, imbuing it with mystical 'notes' throughout. Lovingly rendered with tender - almost fragile - poignancy.

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  16. I love the sweet nostalgia here. Epic.

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  17. A beautiful poem that brings the past – and the man – vividly present.

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  18. Thank you for sharing this beautiful poem for Stuart, how deep with feeling and love it is. What a wonderful read for all of us.

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  19. The pure feeling of love, such beauty.

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  20. A beautiful love story.I hope he reads this poem. If he does you will know who is tapping on your door:)

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  21. I have one more
    hug
    to give you
    in this lifetime... that is incredibly beautiful..for me that sums up the relationship, the love, the beginning and the end.

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  22. Stunningly beautiful, Sherry! I lost my way, more than once. I long for love once more.

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  23. This is beautiful Sherry - pure poetry of love.
    Anna :o]

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