On the train from Les Laumes,
Rushing backwards away from you,
I can feel my heart stretch out
Like elastic. The pull grows stronger.
We fly past lakes and highways.
The greens of a forest brush by.
Trills of your smile shimmer
In the window’s reflection.
I had been waiting for love.
Staying up nights expecting
A knock at the front door,
The hesitant mumble.
I had prepared slippers.
A favourite mug sitting ready
For a pair of gentle outstretched hands.
You push a strand of your
Peacock hair back over your ear
and laugh at my jokes.
You’re so beautifully quiet.
What I had learned of love’s face
I studied in flickering movie screens.
And what I knew of her devious ways
Only through the experience of others.
You smile and keep your mouth shut.
We may all wait for love
But we cannot wait forever.
Agitation of hands. Strength of words. 