The shaking hand that traced the wiry letters
traced the future:
that caressed my hair when I was young
now grips my heart with grief.
And I am left to wonder –
Did you know too?
.
Hands more eloquent than words their joints gnarled
like old branches
their sinews stretched with time
tell the story of a life long-lived.
And I am left to wonder –
Do you know too?
.
The emptiness of future anniversaries
flashed before me;
Words of love, not for this day alone
but for all the days to come.
And I no longer wonder –
You do know too.
.
.
by Frances Cummins
(1992)