Thursday, August 11, 2016

Poetry Friday: My Husband's Hands

My Husband's Hands

Do you remember the first time you kissed me?
First you held my hand
And showed me yours.
You explained the scar,
How it came to be there,
Told me about the car accident
And going over the bridge.
I felt dizzy from holding your hand.

How could I have known then
How I would come to love those hands?
Those hands that cook and compute and write
That play chess and ping pong and basketball
Those hands that pack the car when we go on a trip
And unpack it when we get home,
That load the car with groceries
And unload them into the kitchen,
That make me tea again and again and again.
Sometimes they try to text, with clumsy thumbs.

Those hands always bring me pleasure and never pain.
I can trust those hands.
Those hands hold me, and held our babies,
Gently cupping their heads
As you carried them around proudly.

Do you remember the first time you kissed me?
I thought the kiss was the wonder -
That was what sent me floating back to my dorm.
But what really mattered was those hands.
You were showing me your history, scars and all;
You were giving me your hand
And taking mine as we walked into the future,
Which on that long-ago afternoon we knew not at all.

Ruth, from thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com

Here's the roundup.

12 comments:

mbhmaine said...

Oh, how I love this poem--so heartfelt and so moving.

Brenda at FriendlyFairyTales said...

Ruth, That is a lovely poem. Such love and tenderness. Thanks for sharing.

Julieanne said...

What a powerful love. Power in those hands. Thank you.

Tara said...

A poem which evokes love and memory - just beautiful, Ruth!

Donna Smith said...

This is beautiful. I'm happy that you penned it for all the future hand-holders.

Tabatha said...

So much love and appreciation here, Ruth! This would be terrific to read at an anniversary dinner.

Linda Mitchell said...

There's some serious deep and abiding love in that poem. What a beautiful tribute. Wow.

Sally Murphy said...

what a beautiful love poem. Thank you for sharing.

Anonymous said...

Your love is as beautiful as the poem.

Alice Nine said...

What a beautiful love tribute! Your last two lines resonate with me: "And taking mine as we walked into the future, Which on that long-ago afternoon we knew not at all."

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

One of my favorite books is of hand portraits. I, too, love how revealing they are. Beautiful love poem, Ruth!

Whispers from the Ridge said...

Those hands...I love it. What a special poem. Thank you for sharing it with us!