poetry – Choose Joy: Poems, Prayers and Prose

On the first day of spring

two decades and 4 years ago

I remember…

I remember you

walking towards me

looking dashing in your beige barong

smiling and saying, “Hello, I believe

we’ve met earlier…”

Yes, I remember your voice

strong but gentle,

commanding attention,

but allowing spaces of silence

to listen with full attention —

Yes, I remember your eyes,

the color of the sea, deep green,

shining with amusement

quietly taking in my words

spoken in response to your revelation

that you were not just a minister

you were a lawyer, too.

Yes, I remember my unfiltered,

unapologetic reply –

that night at the Luce Library,

“I don’t like lawyers much!”

You just stood there gazing at me

and letting me chatter on

like a defense attorney making her case

why you should walk away now

while you can.

But you didn’t.

You stayed

and listened …

and at the end of my lengthy opening statement,

we both knew,

you had won

the most important case

in your life,

you had won

my heart.

Category: poetry