Wait here, she said, I’ll be right back.
It was her first promise to me;
A small one, yes, but
She gave it, kept it; left and returned.
I smiled watching her saunter away,
Grinned as she seemed to gravitate back.
She gave me five more,
Each like the first, a tiny sparkling word
Brought to life in the keeping,
Planting in me a seed of hope,
Cast on rocky soil, but each took,
This one and the next one too,
And soon I hoped, and still I hope.
Since then she has surely placed
A million more, back to back,
Giving them first, then keeping them,
Until I wonder now whose hope this is:
Mine, because she gave it to me
Or in the keeping still hers?
Gary this is just so unique and joyful as well. Thanks for a nice read.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delicately powerful...this poem is very finely crafted indeed, the use of language is especially clever: 'She gave it, kept it; left and returned.' I think a promise must be one of the few things you can give and keep at the same time...and this line and the lines that echo this further down: ‘Giving them first, then keeping them’ shows the skilful way in which you have juxtaposed the images with an enviable economy of words. The final two lines round this off perfectly…I’m keeping this one. j.