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
12 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.