I've Probably Been Here Before Poem by Shirley Harrison

In all the lifetime's I've had

and many more to come

I've been here before

I know you may think I'm mad?

I will take it as a great compliment

especially, once you have heard me out...



you see I've been here before

In a different life

maybe I was a fish?

I've always had a strange feeling around the ocean

maybe I was taken in a swirl of waves

into the belly of a magical whale?

maybe I was a magnificent Italian queen?

in the city of Naples, I surely feel at home

gazing up at Vesuvius

on a summer's night from my terrace

whilst tasting the southern wines in hand

and maybe once I was even an astronaut

who traveled to infinity?

I certainly have a passionate love for the moon

I may have been a carpenter

after all, I simply adore the finishes of a grand piece of wood

especially a piano

what if I was a great Jazz singer?

I love to sing the blues?

maybe I was a damsel in distress?

on the horse of a true hero

under the Casentino forest?

all those trees hovering over me

haunt my dreams even when I walk under them today

I could have been a French chef?

spreading my joy for butter

on to authentic plates under the Eiffel tower

I have such a passion for the croissant



I often ponder on why I feel the way I do

in certain places? in certain moments?

some would even call it déjà vu



all I can do is smile



because...

I know in my heart

I've probably been here before.