On and On and On and On

She encouraged me to meet you…

nagged me, to be honest.

I admit I shook my head.

What did this sweet old woman know

about the love I wanted?

But she was determined, insistent,

describing your attributes, your sense of fair play,

your gentle smile.

She went on and on and on and on...

So I caved at the last possible second,

just before I left for another life,

rolling my eyes until only the whites showed,

like clouds hiding the blue.

I shrugged and, rushed with impatience,,

started up the hill to where you were.

She clapped her hands and giggled in delight.

And it went on and on and on and on...

I saw you then, not across a crowded room

but sitting in the dirt, fighting with

a machine I couldn’t identify

to save my life. To save my love...

You looked up and our eyes met.

You smiled that gentle smile and

Eternity stopped.

Eternity stopped.

Everything about me froze, too, except the pounding of my heart.

And it went on and on and on and on....

I had to find a way to reach you,

to know you, to see that smile again.

“Come hike with us.”

“Come eat with us.”

“It’s movie night.”

“It’s game night.”

“Come…” But you refused.

The thought of you

grew until it consumed me.

Not a day, not an hour, not a minute

without the memory of that briefest of encounters.

Thoughts of you were crowding the chambers

of my heart and mind.

And it went on and on and on and on...

Then a ‘yes’! What? Had I misheard?

But there you were at my door, right on time.

Shy at first, tentative in our touch, in our talk

of each other’s mind and heart and faith and loves.

But, oh, the peace that flooded me with your presence.

Oh, the joy that expanded with each day.

And it goes on and on and on and on...