The Gardener Poem by Kong Yin

Watering flowers in my yard
one, two, three,
with care I attend each.

A shadow falls upon plantain;
my heart shakes like petals.
As I knew you would,
you have returned.

Holding my breath in the dusk
for the longest time,
facing the half-watered plantain,
my back towards you,
I could not turn around.

Your gentle breath
like the fragrance of blossoms
warms my back.
In the shadows of the flowers,
I had been weeping in your absence.

Yet when inches apart,
I faced away,
entrenched in solitude.
I heard a gentle whisper
from my tender yellow plantains:
“We recognize this shadow,
but do we still know this person? ”