Under a cherry tree
The upcoming Valentine’s Day seems like a great excuse for me to finally push myself to publish more of my poetry, so here we go.
I wrote this one in the fall of 2021 for a creative writing class held at the Faculty of Education. At the time, the world was opening up already, but the actual covid numbers were skyrocketing, and being careful as I tend to, I was not super comfortable meeting with people quite yet. Instead, I ran a lot and daydreamed to the beat of any song that found its way to my ears. Then we got an assignment to imagine it’s May, we’re crazily in love, and write a poem about that – and that’s how Under a Cherry Tree came to be, coming to me during one of my runs. Rereading it always takes me back to “just outside of the forest, where an old cherry tree swayed”. Or maybe to a completely different place. Never trust an artist, especially in the details.
Out of the blue
everything I saw was you
crossing my way.
I should’ve known better
than to come here on the first of May.
“Oh, hi, aren’t you – ?”
“Yes.”
Heart skipped a beat.
And that’s how the story started
of an unexpected kiss under a cherry tree.
“Nice seeing you outside of the internet.”
“Same here, are you doing well?
I was worried given what you said – ”
“You know,” I shrugged, “I have been going through a bit of hell.”
You did know because you’d been through it, too.
Until this day I remember the moment in between the trees.
Two hearts standing, silently understanding:
“Tell me how you really feel.”
Back then, it was six months
since I had closed my heart for good.
To get one in the right hands,
you need to send
thousands of messages in the bottle,
but how much breaking can one little heart stand?
They say love conquers all
and six months before that it had conquered me.
With time I had forgotten
how to breathe and see.
All the warning signs had been there
that I’d been losing myself
just to be someone else’s dream.
What does it mean when a heart skips a beat
if all it ever brings about
are nights when you cry yourself to sleep?
I had sworn the next time
I would have fight the gravity.
I had put my heart through the fire one too many times,
that’s how I had earned my steel.
So I stayed two meters away,
eyeing you wearily,
trying to guard my own personal gray.
The thing is, sometimes, I can see into the future.
Satin on your skin.
My hands all over you.
I thought I should run far away –
quick, before things stop being enchanting and new.
I saw your dimples and the lines around your eyes.
I saw that you would stand by my side,
laugh when for the first time
you’d see me dancing with my own shadow
in the dim lamplight.
I saw the water drops
as you came out of the shower,
your shirt hanging from my door –
and I knew I would want this
forevermore.
Was it love at first sight?
I don’t think it was.
It took us years to learn each other’s demons
and being a team even in times
when we were everything but right.
With all the missteps and all the lines being crossed,
there was one thing I did right, my dear.
It comes back to that day
we met just outside of the forest
where an old cherry tree swayed.
A quixotic wanderess
met a head full of dreams.
What was supposed to happen
when it looked like what you saw
was the actual, real me?
Frozen and terrified,
I reached across the worlds.
I took your hand in mine
to travel them with you
and let our lives intertwine
with all the love
I hoped
we’d grew.