That’s When He Kisses Me… Poem by Louise Tredoux

Rudi has a whole universe of marine life in his head, his
passion for all things nautical and maritime is amazingly
strong, his dedication and passionate interest makes him
so handsome, eyes burning with fiery feeling

I love Rudi’s capacity for strong emotion, for total devotion
to things that interest him, I have saved his school projects
on biology and maritime life when I cleaned the cupboards,
I love them as much as him, they are evidence

Of his ability to be stirred and work hard to achieve his ob-
jectives, he wanted to get rid of everything, I love seeing
his handwriting, the examples of butterflies he collected
and mounted, his collection of shells, bibliographies

I touch them when Rudi’s not here, hold them to my heart,
forever a part of my life and my soul – without becoming a
fetish, they are precious as evidence of Rudi’s spiritual
being, he is the lost half of my soul that found me

And made us whole, everything that belongs to him is precious
beyond material being; the fact that Rudi loves me as much
as his dolphins and fishes and seascapes created in clear
glass is a wonderful feeling, Juliette says she would

Have insisted on being number one, the fishes would have to
come afterwards; while I feel his focus on the world makes
him more admirable in my eyes, simple devotion to me would
put me on a shaky pedestal and I would have been scared

Of falling off, letting him down, now I’m part of the world he
loves and regards with joyous eyes, he loves looking at my
books also, listening when I explain - I grow embarrassed
under the sweep of his eyes, not used to being listened to

That’s when he kisses me and I become number one…