POEM 4
By Lu Sobredo
INTRODUCTION
My thoughts have travelled far into the Leap Year. I started to write this poem on the night of February 29, 2020 and it greeted the first day of March.
My muse was relentless, it kept me writing for hours into the night and the next morning. I couldn't help but comply, as thoughts poured out like words imprisoned for eons, desperate to wake up from slumber.
|
Midnight in Barcelona, Spain. ©James Sobredo, 2016 |
Imperfect
Life Full of Perfect Moments: Poem 4
Every now
and then, I marvel
At earth’s elliptical
revolutions around the sun,
And at how
many there had been
Since first
we met.
The passage
of time chronicled
Early on in
cards and letters we exchanged.
Ah, those
precious letters,
They were
kisses disguised as quiet conversations
In our
hearts. I imagined them as having been written
Under the
light of the moon
While at
its perfect angular distance from the sun.
Words and
passages I’ve read out loud,
Eagerly leapt
from the pages to the tongue, quenching thirst
When you
weren’t around.
Those
letters, as I read them now,
They are
not typical of love letters.
Why then,
would those words draw images
That take my
breath away
Now, as
they did then,
Decades
before?
Is it
possible to look back over the span of years?
Perhaps to
count how many sunrises
Felt like a
warm embrace.
We hungered
for more,
More of
everything. More, out of life.
And when life
takes too sharp of a turn
Throwing one
of us or both sadly askew,
Dreams once
brightly paved are dimmed.
The abrupt
jolt makes for a cruel journey.
It hurts like
cut glass shattering resolve. It pierces
The heart and
threatens to break open the ground we walk on.
Wound so
wide and deep, what could possibly mend it?
How many of
life’s storms could love withstand?
One hopes never
to find out, nor reach that breaking point.
A break, oh
so permanent, it betrays
The promise
of growing old together.
When doubts
thrust into the soul like uncontrollable deluge,
All one could
do is keep both hands pressed
Ever so
tightly against the chest
To guard hope
from spilling out and emptying the soul.
How could
anything console
When doubts
greet at the door and I can’t breathe?
Because I
can’t breathe without you.
Every now
and then, I marvel
At the
resiliency of the human soul. For when life’s
Darkest hours
visit like an unwelcome guest,
You are
with me.
And I am
comforted by the warmth
Of a hand
holding mine. While healing, we would feast
On sunsets
and sparkling wine;
On seafood,
jazz and gelato.
Is it
possible to still dance under the stars
When age
and affliction are unwilling enablers?
Because I
still desire movement.
Because
long adventure rides still await you.
And I still
fantasize
Impersonating
a Mark Morris dancer.
Or at the very
least, dance
As we did
the day we wed.
Every day,
I remember to forgive the wrong turns;
Even cherish
the risks, reactions, and tough decisions made.
I am poised
for many more tomorrows,
More
sunrises and sunsets,
Slow dances,
Chris Botti concerts
And walks
on the beach when the moon is
At its
perfect angular distance from the sun.
Every day,
I give myself permission
To dig into
our memory chest
Of the
imperfect life we’ve lived so far,
So full of many
perfect moments.
Humbled by
it all.
Humbled by a
universe that offers bountiful gifts,
Yet miserly
takes like a thief.
Then,
generously ignites courage to trust love.
That same
brand of love has taken us
Through the
Alps in Northern Italy,
To a
stretch of the Pyrenees,
And the
sands of Playa de La Concha
In San
Sebastian, Spain where our hearts are at home.
Our
imperfect life full of perfect moments.
Poem ©Lu
Sobredo
Photo
©James Sobredo
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
About the Author
Lu Sobredo is writer/publisher at
Lu Travels Abroad, a blog dedicated to folks whose limitations do not hamper
them from traveling. A year into early retirement her world collapsed from the
diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Her total life changed, but she did not
let RA define her. With love from family, friends and an awesome doctor, she
regained some functionality--her new normal. She will have RA all
her life. And she now writes about life and travel with RA. During the
pandemic of 2020, she stays put and writes poetry and a first novel, a travel
of sorts but in the heart and mind.
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