Caught Poem by Diana van den Berg

Wandering down the evening pathway
we used to meander together
I heard you calling my name –
funny how the mind can play tricks -
but no, that was definitely you calling me
some distance ahead of me.

I called to you to wait for me,
but your voice, teasingly, tantalisingly,
remained ahead of me
so I ran to catch up with you,
wanting you back
and as I stumbled over a root
you stepped out from behind a tree
and caught me in your arms
so I didn’t fall...

and as my lips started to form the words,
“Thank you”
you silenced them with yours
and I melted
under the patchwork
of stars.

(27 August 2011)