Nostalgia.

I said I’d never write another poem
About your light green eyes
And the gap between your front teeth
As your lips open to smile at me.

I said I’d never touch that face
And those shoulders tenting around me
Making me feel at home.

I said I’d never give you another chance.
But then, I never thought you’d apologize
In a dimly lit room, surrounded by strangers
I forgot were even there. I never thought I’d see you again,
Love glinting like an ashamed promise I rise to meet.

I said, in the end, you were right about us.
Love was a puzzle we couldn’t put together.

I never thought you’d admit you were wrong.
Now the goosebumps marring my skin won’t lay flat
And we can’t stop laughing.
Joy sounds like a bell in a forgotten tower
That rung again, after many years of silence.

When we get up to leave,
My foot slides out from under me on the wet floor
And I reach for you so you can steady me.
Your arm circles my waist.
I am thinking of kissing you
And I am talking about kissing you.
We are kissing in a dark parking lot 
Where we’ve kissed a thousand times before.

I said I’d never kiss you again.

I never thought I’d hear you say, “I have missed you.”
When you did, my body sighed in relief.
No more pretending, I hear the words float out unbidden,
Words I said I’d never say, “I’ve missed you.”

I said I’d never write another poem about you.
But then, I say a lot of things.

 

Relephant

A Weathered Woman. {Poem}

~

Author: Chelsea Griffin
Image: An Affair To Remember (1957)
Editor: Angel Lebailly
Copy Editor:  Khara-Jade Warren
Social Editor: Nicole Cameron