Take Me Back
take me back.
not too far,
just two-and-a-half(ish) decades
when I caved and agreed to have lunch with you
take me back.
not too far from where we sat that day,
but a lifetime of memories ago
when our conversations grew
like the mouth of the Hudson after the rain
take me back.
a walk through Central Park on a late summer day
homemade lunches remain untouched
tossed into a metal garbage can
with the Delacorte in view
take me back.
to the moment you remembered
to the moment you repeated what I said countless conversations prior,
to the moment I knew our love planted itself
in soil that would one day hold a towering oak
that we nurture(d)
that we grew
that we find with purpose as each season passes
take me back.
because I want you to see where it all started for me
because I want you to see how I see you
because I want you to see how I see us
you smile and say:
we have never left, my love–
as we sit hand-in-hand under oak-spun shade
18 thoughts on "Take Me Back"
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Oh, this is really nice, HA. I like the metaphor of the oak, the passage of time in its shade. Hope you share it with your love.
Thanks, Bill! I rarely write about my spouse, but this captures a little of what it’s like to live in my frenzied energy and his calm spirit. It is shared, indeed.
Gorgeous! The repetition works like a refrain. I thought the relationship was going to sideways, and I was so pleased to read that wasn’t the case. Love the oak image and the lovely: “when our conversations grew / like the mouth of the Hudson after the rain.”
It’s been a pleasure reading your poems, H.A.
Thanks, Karen! Sometimes you just want to show the person you love the most all they are. 💜 Thanks for reading and for sharing your beautiful poems all month!
This is so intimate and specific, I hear the words with musical accompaniment sung to the person being remembered
Thank you, Gaby! I appreciate that you hear the music.💜 Thanks for reading and for leaving such kind feedback.
What a great love poem! I especially like “the mouth of the Hudson after the rain” and “oak-spun shade.”
Aw! Thanks, Linda! I tend to stay away from these kinds of poems, but this one felt right. Thanks for reading!
Yes! I think you really widen the feeling with the line “like the mouth of the Hudson after the rain” because it brings to mind naturality and wildness–so good.
Thank you, Shaun! Yeah, we were two natural and wild kids who became natural and wild adults. Thank you so much for reading and for your kind words.
so pretty – I imagine it as a gift (metaphorically and literally, this poem)
Thank you, Arwen! Yes, a gift of many gifts, and many more to come. Thank you so much for reading and for leaving such kind feedback.
Can feel the music in this wildly appealing and imaginatively articulated write, especially when read out loud. There is an intimacy to this piece. Great write! Thank you for this and all the writings this month. I learn so much about craft from reading your poetry.
Thank you, L.! Such kind and generous feedback. I am honored to be part of such a brilliant community, and to share it with gifted writers/storytellers like you.
Thank you for reading. I am so glad you like this one. ❤️
I never enjoyed a love poem so much. Who among us wouldn’t want to do it again, if only to relive a day? I especially love the line “…when our conversations grew
like the mouth of the Hudson after the rain.” I’m not a New Yorker myself (my wife is), but I have been there many times, and I so love how you have woven the city through your verses. Much like Meyer Berger, the great New York Times writer who was forever finding fascinating nooks and crannies and characters of the city. Just excellent poetry.
Thank you so much, Lee! What a beautiful honor to have such compliments from you– a dynamite, accomplished writer! I love that you enjoyed this poem. I’m not typically one to write about love or my spouse, but this one felt right. It’s been such a pleasure to read your writing all month long, too. Many thanks, Lee!
Glad to see that ‘two natural and wild kids who became natural and wild adults’ are still together in that “oak-spun shade”
Love: “when our conversations grew/like the mouth of the Hudson after the rain”
and the incredible response to “take me back”
“we have never left, my love–/as we sit hand-in-hand under oak-spun shade”
Beautiful love poem.
Thanks, Pam! He and I are happy to be growing old together, too. ♥️
Thank you so much for reading this, for loving my spouse’s and my love story (well, a tiny snippet of it), and for all your kindness with my writing this month.