When she looked at me,
Her eyes pierced my heart
With vengeless anger,
Longing to be set free;
A familiar fire
That burned and would not depart ….
When she yelled at me,
My heart was torn by sorrow
For her, as if longing to be
In her place, to prevent today
What could not be saved tomorrow;
Her price I would gladly pay…
When her hand struck me,
I was stunned
By the gentleness of her caress
On me—the enemy she had shunned;
She did not her hurt repress,
Yet did not tear down my dignity….
When she cried to me,
Her tears were as showers
Pelting my soul with grief unspoken;
Like burning flowers,
Grieving with a heart so broken,
Yet fragrant with the incense of forgiveness….
When she stood by me,
Riveted in horror as I flung myself to separate
Her from harm’s blow,
Trained at her to devastate;
Her hand was like a balm from which did flow
Healing that infused my emptiness….
Then she smiled at me,
Like the crash of a wave on a flaming shore,
Extinguishing my pain;
Like the warmth of the sun on my frozen core,
Reviving me where I had lain;
Embracing me in tenderness.
Her eyes pierced my heart
With vengeless anger,
Longing to be set free;
A familiar fire
That burned and would not depart ….
When she yelled at me,
My heart was torn by sorrow
For her, as if longing to be
In her place, to prevent today
What could not be saved tomorrow;
Her price I would gladly pay…
When her hand struck me,
I was stunned
By the gentleness of her caress
On me—the enemy she had shunned;
She did not her hurt repress,
Yet did not tear down my dignity….
When she cried to me,
Her tears were as showers
Pelting my soul with grief unspoken;
Like burning flowers,
Grieving with a heart so broken,
Yet fragrant with the incense of forgiveness….
When she stood by me,
Riveted in horror as I flung myself to separate
Her from harm’s blow,
Trained at her to devastate;
Her hand was like a balm from which did flow
Healing that infused my emptiness….
Then she smiled at me,
Like the crash of a wave on a flaming shore,
Extinguishing my pain;
Like the warmth of the sun on my frozen core,
Reviving me where I had lain;
Embracing me in tenderness.
That she bends;
She becomes the power
That she sends;
She becomes the healing that mends;
She becomes the lover that tends;
She becomes the tenderness that she shields;
She becomes the weapon that she wields.
She becomes the blood that flows
Through me as our love grows;
She would not bend it
But would defend it,
As though her own depends on it….
She is the dancer who becomes the dance;
She is the spell who becomes the trance;
She is the sifu who becomes the way;
She is the daylight who becomes the day;
She is the shower
Who becomes the rain;
She is the flower
That soothes my pain;
She is the artist who becomes the art;
And of me she has become a part--
So inseparable;
So dependable
Is she who has blossomed in my heart.