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.
- Carla Romarate-Knipel
Choose Joy: Poems, Prayers and Prose 