darling, do you see now?
our whole life right ahead
let me show you around
all that I hold dearest

the sill where it drizzled
now soaks in golden light
the sky once lackluster
today bursts open bright

from flowers: a medley
with the wind’s gentle hum
all the love kept neatly
in this place we call home

memories overflow
in drawers and in pages
with wonder I have told
poems for the ages

and this is me, your me
never thought myself fair
this little life of me
makes not much glow to flare

fumbling over the food
clumsy with knife and peel
I save my few sweet words
for verses meant for you

my nose, so big and flat
my hair a tangled mess
my body soft with fat
lipstick, a hurried smudge

I think – but dare not ask
darling, do you see me?
or please just don’t, perhaps
let me dream peacefully

for whether dark or dawn
my world’s forever full
my days keep living on
because you, because you

I hear the rain keep time
to the rhythms of your words
in your hair, sunlight warms
the day stretches its chords

the air thick with coffee
and flowers in season
how could I grow old, see
in days full of passion?

my hands would still find yours
guide you across the floor
count the tiles as we move
the home grows ever more

and our hearts wider still
for you to come and rest
so you will hear it fill
with all that I love best

I love your honeyed words
your careful little feet
love your meals of comfort
your hands, gentle and sweet

your back and your shoulders
your eyes, your lips, your skin
even all the wrinkles
I love your every inch

to see you beside me
a dream that’s always true
forever you will be
the fairest that I knew