This poem won first place in the 2023 Cantebury tales poetry competition, on the theme of promises.
There’s a path through the trees
A clearing if you walk the right steps
Steps burnt into my skin (left, right, straight on)
A path I could walk if the world vanished
There’s a clearing somewhere
(I say somewhere, I know the exact spot)
A spot by a rock with perfect rocks to skim
If the water flows slow then sometimes we swim
(We swam) and we talked and we laughed and we loved
When we were too young to love, When I struggled with arithmetic
The sum of us still seemed to fit, as perfect as it should
Should have, past tense, past summers, past picnics
Sixteen, cusp of everything, picnics in this wood
Sixteen, up ahead, all the life, all the hours
We promised to love each other forever
I promised each week I’d bring you flowers,
Wisteria, your favorite, I promised, God I felt so brave
Sixteen, cusp of everything, I never thought I’d put wisteria gently on your grave
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