Unbeknownst To Me
He stood there, musing
As he often did
About deep and wondrous things
That only a poet could perceive.
I watched him from my window
Hidden in the shadows
Of lace curtains and pale moonlight
With no candle to show him
Who watched or why.
He stood by the street lamp
Leaning back and looking at the moon
Listening to the train sounds
From across the river
And the beating of his sad and soulful heart.
Three or four times a week, he came
And stood there in that place
Not speaking, not acknowledging a nod
Or a frown or a smile
Just standing there, musing
And I watched him with my own lonely heart
And longing in my eyes.
I didn't know him and yet I did
Did as well as I knew myself
And what I needed from the moon
And the world and life and poems
That had no end.
I needed to be seen and known
And found and loved
I needed to watch the moon
And listen to the train
And walk in the rain and share my pain
While holding the hand of the man
Whose heart I felt as deeply as my own.
I didn't know what I would do
The evening that he didn't show up
On my corner in the moonlight
To stand there watching the moon
And the world pass by............
(And unbeknownst to me...
Me in my shadowed window.)
I had no idea
That he thought the same thoughts about me
That he longed to look into my eyes
And hold my hand and kiss my lips
And sing me songs and read me poetry
For hours on end. I didn't know.
I see him look at his watch,
Look up at the moon,
Turn to walk down the street toward the river,
Turn around again and grab hold of the street lamp
And do a wild child-like twirl around it
And hear him laugh out loud.
Then to my amazement, he walks over to my building
Looks up at my window and whistles softly
"Hey, girl." he says and stands on his tip toes, stretching
"Hey, girl, you wanna come dance in the moonlight?"
"Hey, girl......" and before he can finish his question
I am out my door, down the stairs and outside
In the falling darkness, looking into his brown eyes.
"Finally." he says so quietly I'm not sure he spoke it
"I thought I would have to wait here forever."
And I question him with my shining eyes and he shrugs
"No, I'm not deranged, I'm just shy."
"So am I." I say like a whisper, laughing like a child
And we stare at one another in wonder and awe.
And unbeknownst to us
Two grandmothers somewhere say "Amen"
And bow their heads and clasp their hands
And smile toward Heaven thanking God
That their prayers have been answered at last
Prayers that their two lonely children
Have finally found each other as was ordained
And before it was too late for them
To ever have known it
And that night around that street lamp
With the moon smiling down on us
And the song of the lonesome train
Serenading us with sweetness,
We found one another
As though we had never been apart.
©By Voo
Dec 19, 2018
3:42 p.m.
