I watch myself aging in your eyes. My heart in my chest sits high on stilts and leans forward for the sunlight that comes down through my ribs at midmorning. It is still a hopeful heart. My face still has two sides. And my hands each have a pocket to sleep in. Just like yours. You stand near an old stone doorway, shading your eyes from the sun. The church bells are ringing again. Each ding or dong has its own personality. Across the way two women stand at a gate feeding pigs. The pigs grunt and grind, watching us. All night the majestic church bells ring, setting a rhythm for our sleep as you sleep peacefully beside me and I beside you. In the morning we climb all the way to the top of the hill for a panoramic view. We see our village below by the bay. The eagle with feet full of the possibility of stars makes so much possible for us, but it is our own love for each other that makes the difference. We are growing older gracefully together. We've taken to aging like a dog to its collar. Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, www.cc.press.org | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE WIDOW'S MITE by FREDERICK LOCKER-LAMPSON THE HOUSE OF LIFE: 36. LIFE-IN-LOVE by DANTE GABRIEL ROSSETTI SOUTH WIND by SIEGFRIED SASSOON WOULD I KNEW! by WILLIAM ALLINGHAM THE JEWISH MARTYRS by W. V. B. EN TOUR; A SONG SEQUENCE: 4. FOR FRANCES ANN by ALBERTA BANCROFT MY GHOSTS by JOHN KENDRICK BANGS SONNETS OF MANHOOD: 34. FAIRY LAND by GEORGE BARLOW (1847-1913) |