[PAD] The redbuds are early this year...
This one has been writing itself ever since the day we got Prompt # 4 (a history poem) on the same day I noticed the redbuds had started blooming already. The tree by my bus stop is bursting in all it's lavender glory now, and greets me every morning. I'm always a little sad when they come this early, because they won't be there for the birthday...but that's okay. We remember anyway.
Making this one public, 'cause I hope she reads it (when it cross-posts to facebook). :)
Redbud
4/7/10
Glancing out the window,
Vision sparkling with unshed tears
A fitful night of stops and starts
No sleep, no progress, no respite,
Dawns to despair as nurses talk
of sonograms and surgeries
my body steadfastly refusing to let go
of what head and heart had already relinquished,
apparently not getting the memo…
Colors fill my vision
Morning sun filters through delicate lavender flowers
Framed by the new green leaves of spring’s first breath
And for a moment, I’m mesmerized
Clinical sounds and sterile walls
Fade as I lose myself
In the must beautiful moment
I’d ever seen.
Until I held you in my arms, that is,
My delicate May Queen.
Then all of nature’s spectacle
Paled by comparison
To those tiny toes and wisps of dark hair,
Ruddy complexion with deep wise eyes,
And look, you’ve got my earlobes!
I hold you close while I can,
Feed you, love you,
Marvel at the miracle
Compressing nine months of anticipation
And a lifetime of love
Into a few brief days
Hoping it’s enough.
Emerging from the oasis
Of those five days together
Driving away with empty arms
And a full, but broken, heart
I noticed the colors had left me,
And the delicate blooms of spring’s woodland bouquet
Had already yielded to the inevitable
The wheel of the year rolls on.
Because even broken hearts
Keep beating.
A quarter century come and gone
Yet every spring the redbuds come,
Bursting with life and loveliness
We celebrate our little May Queen
And remember together, while we can,
Though they fade too quickly
As did our moment of beauty,
My heart still full, still broken,
Still beating.
Still hoping it was enough.
Making this one public, 'cause I hope she reads it (when it cross-posts to facebook). :)
Redbud
4/7/10
Glancing out the window,
Vision sparkling with unshed tears
A fitful night of stops and starts
No sleep, no progress, no respite,
Dawns to despair as nurses talk
of sonograms and surgeries
my body steadfastly refusing to let go
of what head and heart had already relinquished,
apparently not getting the memo…
Colors fill my vision
Morning sun filters through delicate lavender flowers
Framed by the new green leaves of spring’s first breath
And for a moment, I’m mesmerized
Clinical sounds and sterile walls
Fade as I lose myself
In the must beautiful moment
I’d ever seen.
Until I held you in my arms, that is,
My delicate May Queen.
Then all of nature’s spectacle
Paled by comparison
To those tiny toes and wisps of dark hair,
Ruddy complexion with deep wise eyes,
And look, you’ve got my earlobes!
I hold you close while I can,
Feed you, love you,
Marvel at the miracle
Compressing nine months of anticipation
And a lifetime of love
Into a few brief days
Hoping it’s enough.
Emerging from the oasis
Of those five days together
Driving away with empty arms
And a full, but broken, heart
I noticed the colors had left me,
And the delicate blooms of spring’s woodland bouquet
Had already yielded to the inevitable
The wheel of the year rolls on.
Because even broken hearts
Keep beating.
A quarter century come and gone
Yet every spring the redbuds come,
Bursting with life and loveliness
We celebrate our little May Queen
And remember together, while we can,
Though they fade too quickly
As did our moment of beauty,
My heart still full, still broken,
Still beating.
Still hoping it was enough.