My Goel

You pulled me to You,
up out of the dusty road.
The blood and sweat and tears
mixing with dust
upon my sunburnt skin
did not deter You.
You knew what You would do.

You covered me with fine silk
that rippled down over my newly-washed curves
like the words You spoke
as you bathed me—
words that washed me like water,
kind words, words of forgiveness.

Your fingers untangled the knots in my hair,
carefully separating the strands
and removing the broken hairs.
You worked slowly, purposefully,
mitigating any pain
by holding my head still
or holding the hair just right.
And all the while You hummed a song.

You took delight in Your work—
I heard Your smile travel up and down
the notes of the lullaby
You next put into words.
Your smile, like sunlight between the leaves of the tree,
dappled upon my cheek.
I wanted to turn to look upon Your face,
but You held me still—
there was yet more work to do.

{composed 11.3.02}
{revised 7.31.06}

love, for the future

i love you

i love you

i love you

will you love me?
not only now
when things are new
but also then …

when i scorch the soup
when i forget to iron your shirt
when it takes too long for me to choose an outfit
when i want to do nothing but nap
when i growl at incompetent drivers
when i sort laundry into greys & browns & reds & purples (not just lights and darks)
when my blood sugar is too low or too high
when i lose my eyesight
when my skin becomes unsightly everywhere
when i lose a foot or a leg
when i forget who you are …

even then?

then

come live in my heart,
in the smile in my eyes,
in the warmth of my embrace,
in the tenderness of my caress.

here you will find home,
a retreat from the crazy
busyness of the outside world.

come know that you are safe,
that you are sheltered
from the buffeting of harsh winds
of criticism,
in a bastion of belief
in who you are,
who you are becoming,
and who you can be.

come rest in the hollow
between my breasts,
above my heart, where
time
is measured
not by 140-character updates
but by
the steady beat
of my affection
for you.