Congratulations Andrew Meek. This lovely letter has won the Valentine's Day Contest.
My Darling,
Just this morning, as I sat at my desk, my back to the light of the day, a sudden breeze blew the scent of the earth my way, and in an instant I was whisked away.
It was fifteen years past and you and I where beneath the shade of an orange tree escaping the heat of the midday sun. We were in Venice, in the garden of a church, away from the crowds and the noise. Our daughter sat between us, not quite a year old then, and she ran her fingers along the tips of the grass and she giggled as it ticked her skin.
Our lives were changing then, at the start of a time when we would no longer just be us two. These past fifteen years have been full of joy and sorrow and such love for another beyond our love for each other; a love I could never imagined before you gave me this gift of another life: Of us, but not us. A true union of our being becoming unique, our gift to each other, and to the universe.
It was fifteen years past and you and I where beneath the shade of an orange tree escaping the heat of the midday sun. We were in Venice, in the garden of a church, away from the crowds and the noise. Our daughter sat between us, not quite a year old then, and she ran her fingers along the tips of the grass and she giggled as it ticked her skin.
Our lives were changing then, at the start of a time when we would no longer just be us two. These past fifteen years have been full of joy and sorrow and such love for another beyond our love for each other; a love I could never imagined before you gave me this gift of another life: Of us, but not us. A true union of our being becoming unique, our gift to each other, and to the universe.
And now, she is becoming a woman, and soon perhaps, she will leave us behind, as we left our old lives behind when we found each other. Perhaps she will be lucky like us and find someone who will love her all her life, cherish her, make each day not just a day.
And we my love, we will be just two again. And though our bodies will have aged, our hair grey: when I look at you I will still see that girl I saw all those years ago that caught my eye and held it a moment, time enough to alter the future, shape a path through time. I will try all I can to make it easy on you, letting go of the life we made. I will kiss you each morning as I do now, and as I kiss you each night before we sleep. And I want you to know that I would sell my being to bondage for eternity, to have one more hour of life with you.
I'm not into Valentine's day, didn't grow up with the tradition, but I like the first letter and voted (1):)
ReplyDeleteIt was beautiful congratulations on your poem and one amazing marriage!
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