More Thoughts
for "each and every one"
I Remember
I remember your names
each and every one of you.
I remember the thrill
if I caught a glimpse of you.
I remember the shock
when I fell in love with you.
I remember the fear
of getting too close to you.
I remember the joy
if I got a smile from you.
I remember the nights
I spent thinking of you.
I remember the days
when I couldn"t be with you.
I remember the pain
when I had to say goodbye to you.
Refrain
Sweet sixteen
and never been kissed?
Oh yes, by me -
a million times...
...but only in my dreams.
Heart"s Thieves
So many memories!
This quiet room where now I sit alone.
To how many did I lose my heart here,
yet myself find no love?
They resound in my memory:
each and every one...
and I, unable to act,
mutely gave it to them.
Beautiful, incorrigible thieves!
In Class
The room is full
but I only have eyes for you.
You stand out
like a golden angel
illuminating the space around you.
Yet if I get too close,
I"ll be burnt, blinded.
Your bright eyes meet mine for an instant,
and I tremble in awe of you.
Too beautiful,
too perfect,
too lovely.
I am rooted to the spot,
tongue-tied, mute,
mesmerised.
Your gaze moves away:
is there a slight smile playing on your lips?
Lips which I yearn to kiss.
You shift in your seat
as you settle down to work again
head bowed over your books,
unruly blond hair falling over your face -
and I watch your every move.
I can do nothing:
I am your teacher
you are my student.
You have no idea
how you affect me.
Or do you?
That"s something I can never know,
but, God! How I wish...
Physical
hair
brow
eyebrows
ears
eyes
cheekbones
nose
lips
mouth
tongue
chin
neck
shoulders
collarbone
throat
sternum
aureoles
abdomen
navel
g
r
o
i
n
thighs
knees
calves
ankles
feet
toes
every inch perfection
Can't Help It
You came into my life
when you were just a boy.
Fourteen years old,
Long fair hair in unruly curls
blue-grey eyes
smooth cheeks
cupid-bow lips.
I fell in love with you then...
I couldn"t help it.
Four years I watched you grow:
boy became young man;
your slim young frame
a magnet for my eyes;
your fashioned garb
showing more than it concealed
as you developed.
Each time I saw you
my heart leapt
(and other parts of me as well!)
I devoured you with my eyes,
imagining...
I couldn"t help it.
We talked, you and I.
I said too much...
I couldn"t help it.
You backed away.
Now you are gone from my life
and become a memory.
Sweet youth!
I"m still in love with you now...
and I still can"t help it.
Pavan
To you they are just notes on a page,
but for me, more - much more than that.
Every note, each chord
a wordless refrain,
a song of love, unsung.
Into your hands I surrendered my heart.
O happy instrument
caressed by those fair hands!
Teasing from its strings
my love for you.
I would take its place,
if only to feel your touch:
every trembling note,
each sighing cadence -
exquisite agony!
Yet you don"t hear my hymn to you -
to you they are just notes on a page.
Tempus Fugit
Time moves on
and so did you.
For a moment in eternity
our paths crossed.
Times past;
a look, a word,
a smile.
Every second precious,
every empty day without you
a thousand years of wasted time.
Times present;
the memories linger on.
Where are you now?
Your time is your own.
Times future;
dark, endless night.
Time has moved on
and taken me from you.
Time to go now,
no turning back the clock.
This small anthology of poems is © 2009 Jack Kendle, to whom comments may be sent.
