Beach Betrothal

Even a puddle,

shallow enough 

to walk through 

wetting nothing 

but the bottom 

of my shoes, 

reminds me 

of the lake 

we swam in, 

young 

and in love.

You asked me 

to be yours, 

staring out 

into the waves 

as if you couldn’t 

bear to look 

directly at me, 

but holding my hand 

as if I 
was the only one

who could rescue you 

from drowning. 

Each time the sun 

kisses the shore,

(the way you 

traced kisses 

across my neck)

she finds her 

reflection 

on the water, 

two halves 

of the same 

whole. 

It is raining now, 

and in the morning

when we wake, 

the world will be 

full of tiny lakes,

each one, 

a way that

I have loved you. 

Each one, 

a day that

you have held
my heart.