I. Walls and Doors
He stood before a red brick wall
That blocked the only path he saw,
The road went on beneath the brick
And to this route he had to stick.
He laid a gentle hand upon
With eyes closed wished the mortar gone.
A voice from trees on other side,
Rebuked him for what he had tried,
“Caresses will not break this stone
That’s mixed with iron, cast on bone.
A hammer you will need today,
Aggressive acts to break the clay.”
The man, he nodded to the wall,
“It’s not my wish that this should fall.
Destroy something so nicely wrought?
To keep it tall, I would have fought.
Caresses from the strongest hands,
Removing bricks in smaller bands,
A doorway I can make right here.
The smallest change, you need not fear.
I’ll leave the wall ornately dressed
So passersby will be impressed.”
The voice among the trees just sighs
“I’m done with those who tell me lies.
You say I do not have to fear,
Perhaps your sight is not so clear.
A door is still a hole you see,
Fraught with vulnerability.
And though I let you through today,
What else might cross, and what may stay?
You’re wrong, there’s danger clearly there,
When building doors, one must take care.”
To which this was the man’s reply,
“You’ve never seen one such as I.
I will not break your ramparts down
And leave them fallen on the ground,
Or leave my window to your space
Unprotected in this place.
For if I open up a hole
And pass on through, which is my goal,
I will not leave this wall behind,
In my strong hands, support you’ll find.
I’ll mend the cracks and keep you fair,
If you grant me passage there.
The voice from trees came once again,
“Here is the thing about you men:
Their pretty words are often lies,
But I sense truth behind your eyes.
I give you leave to enter here,
I hope the path you find is clear.”
II. All She Can Do is Smile
Having just pushed the wall aside
The man strode forward, peered inside
"Think I'm going to love it here."
The lady's voice came loud and clear,
"You did not know what you would find
And yet you spoke with words so kind
Though I believe in what you siad
I must admit the slightest dread
For there's a hole in my brick wall
That I cannot repair at all
And through it came something so sweet
That treads my ground with lovers feet.
He will not leave, so I've been told,
But who knows what the future holds
And should you take your leave of me
How can I know who I should be?"
"My lady, fairly do you speak,
The love of men does sometimes peak,
And they must wander on their way
While tearful lovers beg them stay.
This type of man I do despise,
Who looks elsewhere with lusty eyes
And never knows just what he has,
This kind of man I often pass."
The voice from trees did listen well,
Bound to his words, as if by spell.
A smile was upon the air,
"It's for those men I do not care,
But come, you've only answered half."
His voice rang out the clearest laugh,
"My lady doesn't miss too much,
Knows more than she lets on, my hunch.
Who will you be should I away,
The question that you posed this day.
Fir I have chiseled through your wall
And promised not to let it fall,
But who can know what fate does hold?
Perhaps one day my love shall fold,
Or you may find you need me not,
Dispel me from your forest lot.
But should we let the fear of loss
Dissuade us from the path we cross?
We do not know what chance we'd miss,
Perhaps in rain we'll dance and kiss.
A house we may yet build right here
With mason being my career
For I have shaped a pretty door
In your brick wall that's whole no more.
It seems I wax forever on,
Your question from my mind has gone."
It was the lady's turn to laugh,
"You've answered barely more than half,
But your clear voice does render calm
Upon my nerves, a soothing balm.
You have convinced me that its true
I've never met a man like you
Who stops, and looks, and cares, and thinks,
And deeply from this life he drinks.
Never content in shallow pools
To splash about with other fools.
He speaks his mind at every turn;
I never thought for him I'd yearn.
But still my question does remain,
And this would be our topic main.
Now listen close and answer clear,
I bend my question to your ear:
If fate should say this does not work,
How do I deal with things that lurk
Outside my wall that you have broke,
Who should I be, and do not joke."
A thoughtful silence fell on him,
His answer coming not from whim.
He cleared his throat and stood up straight.
The lady, silent, felt the weight,
The gravity of what he'd say
Was palpable on this clear day.
A smile spread across his face
And knowing warmth came to that place,
But "You" was all he said at first
With smile that was fit to burst
Into a laugh that signaled love
And would have scattered clouds above.
Instead of laugh, an answer grew
That shaped the course between these two.
"My lady, I do promise here
There's nothing you should have to fear.
With me you think that you have changed,
I swear I have not rearranged
The type of person that you are,
I've simply traveled very far
And found the person you could be
Without your walls restraining me.
Don't doubt me when I say you've found
A part of you; the most profound.
The part that lets you freely love
All things below that sky above.
And yes, I may have helped you there,
But did not pull this from the air
For in you it has always been,
Just locked away; a dreadful sin
Because you have so much to give
To learn, to teach, a life to live.
You ask me, what it is you'll be,
I'll tell you plainly what I see:
You'll be the person that you are
With strength and love no man can mar.
Though that's my answer, this is true,
I never plan on leaving you.
I love the trees that bring your voice
And its for this I do rejoice.
To hear you speak makes my heart light,
The thought of you and I feels right."
The man, he smiled in the shade,
Enjoyed the lady's forest glade.
The lady, she did smile too,
For what else could she hope to do.
III. Proposal Beneath the Leaves
As often happens, time did pass,
Yet still that man lies in the grass
Amongst the trees he dearly loves
Beneath the sky and nesting doves.
The wall he broke so long ago
Has weathered well without a foe.
The lady in the trees is near
Observing one she holds so dear.
The thought had never crossed her mind
That she had here what’s hard to find.
But now she paid the thought some heed,
And found, fulfilled, a complex need.
For here was one who broke her wall
And stayed to love her, roots and all.
He gives, and loves, and sings with glee,
And waits beneath the tallest tree
To speak with her about the world
And how the future may unfurl.
He’s strong, and kind, and handsome too,
“My lady, do I bother you?”
The man had sensed her waiting there
Watching him lay without a care
Upon the grassy spot he chose
For gentle afternoon’s repose.
“If nuisance I have proved to be
I beg you please to pardon me.”
“Dear, I have suffered no offense,
No need to act like one so tense.
I simply wished to see you lay,
Enjoying, fully, this fine day.
Perhaps in me there was a need
For from your eyes my soul does feed,
And as I look, my heart, it swells
Filled with the sound of chiming bells.
Your presence here, it draws me close
When peacefully you lightly doze.
More often than I thought would be,
I find I need you here with me.
‘Want’ is no longer the right word,
Of you I simply can’t be cured.
And though I fought you from the start,
You’ve found your way into my heart.”
There in the forest, with the birds,
The lady spoke no truer words.
The man, he smiled gratefully
With eyes she thought she’d never see.
Both deep and warm, they loved her most,
That day he looked upon his host.
My lady, you must never say
That you are sending me away,
For, as I’ve spent this time with you
These things I’ve noticed to be true.
You’re passionate at every turn,
You love your life and always yearn
To learn that which you do not know
And lean into the storms that blow.
No thing has ever kept you down
More apt to smile, less to frown.
You laugh more freely than the rest,
And forgive the most annoying pest.
You’re kind, and wise, and special too.
I only wish I could see you.”
The man, he closed his eyes and said,
“My lady, it will make me red,
But I must ask you this my love:
Will you come down from trees above,
For how you look I know no more
Than what lies on the farthest shore.”
The lady, knowing of true love
Appeared not from the trees above
But simply sprung out of the air
As if she’d always been right there.
No poet living can be found,
To note her as she touched the ground,
The sight of her was great to see
And brought the man down to his knee
To see the beauty of his love
Who came to him from up above.
And this is what he said, its true:
I cannot be apart from you.”
He touched her hand, a warm embrace
Then looked into her gorgeous face.
Her eyes were deep with love like his
And what the man said next was this:
“Dear, this is all I want to say,
We will remember this fine day,
As one where love was spoken true
From you to me and me to you.
What future will we, together see,
Megan…will you marry me?
No comments:
Post a Comment